Orange
by Ano Lee Nymus
Summary: This story takes place like Lucy's father never went and tried to find his daughter – in a way he is a good guy. Distraught about many things, Lucy runs away from Fairy Tail with hopes that someone won't try to. The guild doesn't give up in finding her though. When a boy with light colored orange hair, comes to the guild many things are put together as they try to find his mother.
1. Permission to Leave

Summary:

This story takes place like Lucy's father never went and tried to find his daughter – in a way he is a good guy. Distraught about many things, Lucy runs away from Fairy Tail with hopes that someone _won't_ try to. The guild doesn't give up in finding her though, trying hard to bring her back. When a boy with light colored orange hair, comes to the guild many things are pieced together as they try to find his mother. Please don't hate it...I don't own Fairy Tail - only this story, my words, and my character...you can guess it later on when she shows up!

Chapter One

There are only a few reasons of why you would want to see Master Makarov personally. The first would probably be that you wanted to join the guild, Fairy Tail. The next was to inform him of disastrous events that would be coming to destroy Fiore. The last was to request his approval to leave the guild and possibly never come back.

At an early hour in the morning, a certain Celestial Stellar Spirit Mage gave her hand to the master of her guild, tears running down her cheeks while his face looked strained. He didn't think that the girl in front of him would think of leaving the guild – none the less _do _it. If the other mages knew she was leaving there would have been uproar, such as there will be when the girl decides to break it to a few confidents.

It was going to be hard for her without her strong nakama to look after her and make sure that she stayed safe. The girl was promising to get stronger though and that was the only reason in which the master was allowing this to go any further. If it were anybody besides this blonde child, he would have told them to stay.

Taking a deep breath, Master Makarov asked, "When will you leave?"

"Tonight" was her quick answer, clipped and short. The master cringed at her abrupt word, wondering if she wanted to leave that quickly.

"To where?" he inquired.

"Anywhere but here is fine," she told him.

Curiosity crept upon everyone, even the strong guild master as he tried to ask the reason why. The young mage shook her head, causing a flare in his head that told it had to do with something personal.

Sighing, he declared to no one but the two of them:

"Lucy Heartfilia, you have my permission to leave this guild – whether or not you come back is not my concern, as long as you are safe."

* * *

She stood outside of the tall, luminous and ornate building which she called home, thinking it all over in her head. If she stayed then she was going to be the cause of Fairy Tail's near end. Everything would most definitely be better if she left – that was for certain, Lucy knew it. Everyone would go back to normal; the normal of when she was not there.

Lucy pushed open the door that led into the giant dining hall – the dining hall she loved being greeted by was loud and playful; it seemed to be in its usual mood. Hoping that her hooded cloak was not too conspicuous was all the girl could do to keep the thought of leaving from her mind.

Mirajane looked up at her from behind the bar, brightening up and smiling crazily with her hand waving her over. Her locks of long silver hair were bouncing up and down as she tried to beckon Lucy to hurry up. Knowing that she might not want to miss what was coming up, the blonde walked faster to her chirpy friend.

"Where in the world have you been Lucy?" Mira asked in a motherly tone. "You weren't in your apartment or on a mission so don't try and lie."

Lucy slightly laughed, realizing that her friend's concern was very close to the one that once belonged to her late mother's. There were going to be a lot of things that Lucy was going to miss from this guild.

"I've just been doing a few errands here and there," the blonde replied with a shining smile. "I'm sorry to make you worry."

The bartender sighed and threw down the cloth she was using to wipe off a few smudges on the glasses, to wipe her own hands. Pinching her lying friend's cheeks, Mira asked again with a demonic look in her eyes. Once again Lucy said she had been doing errands for money, sweating a little from either the look she was given or the pressure of lying.

"Those are missions and _missions_ are the thing _missing_ from your job file."

"Non-magic related of course Mira," the 'child' of the two informed. "I didn't like any of the jobs on the board this week."

The oldest Strauss sibling's eyebrows shot up due to doubt in Lucy Heartfilia's story but shrugged with a rare-seen annoyance. Though she was still curious about her friend's mysterious disappearances over the few days, she didn't want to seem like she was trying to pry into Lucy's life.

A rose haired boy bumped into the girl's conversation, dragging a different girl along with him – both of them laughing about something. Saying sorry to her without recognizing her face, he plopped down into the seat next to her; his silver haired friend still giggling over a joke.

Lucy froze as she heard his voice ordering something to drink from Mira, a voice that had told her so many things. Things most people would want to hear and things that were normally the thing that would keep them up at night with the thoughts of sweet dreams. Whilst for her, she had nightmares of, featuring him and people trying to get rid of him.

All of those dreams came from after that night when he told her all about it. All of the things he had always wanted to say but couldn't have said before without any courage. It'd been a good night to sleep in – had it not been for those torturous nightmares.

Mira, knowing from the tense aura Lucy seemed to be giving off, came up to ask her younger sister, Lisanna, if she could help out with a few things in the kitchen. The sibling excused herself from her friend's presence to see what her sister needed.

While he was abandoned for a few minutes, Natsu Dragneel noticed, finally, who was sitting next to him and struck up a conversation as casually as he could with her. Fiddling nervously with his drink, he tried looking at her in the eyes but felt as though if he did she would go away. He was fearful of that the most but he didn't feel the need to admit so.

Lucy could feel her heart beating fast as the boy next to her struggled to talk to her without discussing things like what happened just a weeks ago. Her emotions could go from casual to anxious in just a matter of seconds with him. Recognizing his intentions to try and keep things normal between them, the girl went and played along.

Of course though, she didn't have to recognize him _so_ much now did she?

In a matter of minutes, the both of them were laughing as they reminisced old memories on various jobs that would have kept them laughing had Lisanna not come back. Seeing as she was though, Natsu immediately began to talk with the darling girl after saying a few words of goodbye to Lucy. The lovely mage waved with a sad, longing smile at him while he walked away from her without knowing that she wasn't going to be there tomorrow.

She wished that he didn't have to say goodbye so easily.


	2. Everybody Talks

Summary:

This story takes place like Lucy's father never went and tried to find his daughter – in a way he is a good guy. Distraught about many things, Lucy runs away from Fairy Tail with hopes that someone _won't _try to. The guild doesn't give up in finding her though, trying hard to bring her back. When a boy with light colored orange hair, comes to the guild many things are pieced together as they try to find his mother. Please don't hate it...I don't own Fairy Tail - only this story, my words, and my character...you can guess it later on when she shows up...

Chapter Two

Levy was not the type of girl to hold in her tears and bear the pain of her depressing thoughts. She didn't like talking about going away or leaving things that should have been finished long ago. Rather than fight she would be sitting down in a library, reading a book _about_ fighting.

In this case however, the Solid Script Mage had been doing plenty of fighting to keep somebody close to her from going away.

Why did Lucy want to leave Fairy Tail all of a sudden – when things were getting so happy with Lisanna back? Levy didn't dare think of having to gain a friend but to lose one in the process, not when she wanted everybody to stay where they were.

"_Levy just let me speak!" Lucy said, trying hard to keep her friend still. _

_The said girl loosened free from her grip, still screaming with rage on hearing that Lucy was going to leave. Her dorm in Fairy Hills was stored with many books – ones on her bed, above, below, and almost everywhere else. No matter how much Levy loved them though, it seemed that they were the perfect thing to throw around._

"_WHY?" she yelled, an action that never really happened with her quiet and timid personality. "Lisanna is finally back and now you're _leaving_ while every single mage here is _happy."

_Lucy tried to talk again with a calmer voice but with the overreacting girl just screamed for her to leave. _

"_Levy I just can't stay here with everyone like…this," she whispered to only where Levy could hear just barely._

_The blue-haired girl turned towards the one talking to her, arms crossed and a vicious glare still there – just like someone oh-so-familiar to her._

"_I don't get what you are talking about – the guild is fine with you here and there isn't anywhere else where we want you to be," she informed Lucy haughtily. "I'm one of those people Lu-chan."_

_For the blonde girl to nod her head but still stand to her belief was something that Levy didn't understand. Why didn't she just stay with Fairy Tail and forget about leaving. Live with them and smile. _

_Lucy said after a draw of breath, "I know that you don't want me to be anywhere else – I can feel it Levy. I don't want to leave but its better this way, for the guild and for me."_

_At this comment, the other girl asked by hollering why and how it was so-called 'better' for the guild without her; maintaining her voice at a normal pitch was hard when she had to say such. _

"_Don't leave me here all alone – do you hear me Lu-chan?" she added while trying hard to not cry in front of her close friend. When Lucy replied with silence and because of this, Levy hugged her deeply before releasing the other mage._

_"You know that you belong_ here_, Lu-chan!" the girl said. "That's why you shouldn't leave!"_

_"No Levy," Lucy rebuked, "That is why I _should_ leave."_

_"THAT'S WRONG!" Levy yelled._

_"It's right for the guild though," the blonde mage told her. "I've already got the permission from Master so there it's already been decided."_

_Levy froze, knowing that this was the end of the conversation already. If it was already decided for Lu-chan to leave then that was going to happen. One last time, she grabbed ahold of her good friend and cried, not caring whether or not Lucy saw this time. _

_The other female just gave her a chance to let it all out so she wouldn't have to cry about it anymore. It seemed as though Lucy didn't want Levy to cry too much about it because after a minute she pulled away and wiped away most of her tears._

_"I'll come back – I promise I will." _

The blue haired bookworm was worn out from the outbursts she gave just hours ago; by now Lucy could have already boarded the train to wherever. She herself was still surprised at the way she reacted, the thunder she gave off in their little storm.

Levy wasn't crying as much now but she was trying so hard to keep her blonde friend out of her mind – so she _wouldn't_ cry. The thing about friends was that once you had grasped them, they always seemed to slip out of your fingers. It could be only once in a while or on occasion or when everything just broke apart in your life.

As she thought about this, Levy lay with her back on her dorm's book-stacked floor, her hands covering her face.

To no one, she yelled, "LU-CHAN!" while knocking over more books, causing them to tumble onto each other. When she did such movement, Levy noticed a small package, about the size of her hand, sitting in front of the door. Knowing that the only one who could have put it there was Lucy, the curious girl hurried to unwrap the paper that held hid its contents.

What lay inside were documents that told of details Lucy wanted her to know. Some were nice letters to read and to know while others Levy wished had never spilled.

* * *

Gray was next to Juvia when the letter had been dropped off to him – though if you wanted it to be more accurate it was _thrown_ at his face.

Just on the second that Gray had gotten something to drink from Mira, Lucy chucked something thin at him which proceeded to contaminate his alcohol by sinking into it. Setting down the slightly spilled drink on the bar, the half-naked boy looked at a letter addressed to him. There were plenty of things that he would have liked to say to Lucy himself – plenty of curses – that disappeared after Gray read the letter.

Juvia had looked on as well and she smiled sadly at her old 'love rival' who was now walking over to Natsu. The letter was very friendly and funny – going on about old times and joking about Gray's 'exhibits' to Juvia, making her blush. Gray, on the obvious other hand, was thinking hard about what the letter was supposed to mean.

He'd have to ask the blonde some time later.

* * *

Erza Scarlet slipped the letter opener inside of her drawer again after using it to slice open the envelope containing a similar letter to that of Levy's. Though she didn't exactly look like it, Erza was one that cried over heartbreaking things. Jellal leaving for prison was one of the things that made her cry before and now it was this letter that seemed to be wrenching her heart out.

Her hands drifted from gripping her desk to covering her eyes, while she read the letter. She was surprised when she reached the end, seeing as it seemed like Lucy was _leaving_. That was not possible though because Lucy would never do something like that – not like a _coward._

Lucy was a strong girl, not as strong as Erza herself but otherwise she held a great will_. _A will that was only broken when she was beaten down and near death. The girl that the fierce mage knew was one who would never back down even when she felt like doing so.

She would have to ask about this to Lucy sometime later.

* * *

Natsu was next to Lisanna and Happy, chatting a conversation about fish between the three of them – the Exsheed was the most intrigued. Lisanna was on one side of the table's benches while Natsu and Happy were on the other; the girl was explaining that the underwater animals had more purpose than to be food.

Lucy decided to not barge in on their jubilant conversation, even if it was a pretty random one at that. She tried to laugh it off as she walked past their table, being conscious of her feelings made her feel a bit cynical towards Lisanna. She hoped that the feelings would be subdued when she left; they wouldn't bug her and make her feel uncomfortable.

She knew that she would miss the feeling though.

Lucy walked outside, down the winding streets of Magnolia, past closing shops and late-night people who were laughing like drunkards, hobbling around. Pink faces from alcohol over consumption were almost everywhere – possibly due to someone having a party.

She also wished to be drunk, knowing, at the very least, that she would wake up from the nightmare she was living.


	3. A Changed Guild

The beginning starts with a four year old boy so don't mind the way I spelled a couple of things. It's supposed to add a characteristic affect on him. ^.^ Please don't hate it...I don't own Fairy Tail - only this story, my words, and my character...you can guess it later on when she shows up...

Chapter Three

My feet hurt very badly. They felt like they were being stung each time I took another step. I didn't like to run away – I liked to fight back.

I wish Mommy had not told me to run away from that bad man who took her. She looked scared and I didn't like my mommy to be looking like that. It hurt to know my mommy was somewhere very, very far away and I was all alone.

The other children laughed while I walked down the streets of where I was – I didn't know and I didn't care. I only did what my mommy told me to do so she wouldn't be sad. She hated it when I was sad; that was why she smiled so much just to keep me happy.

Mommy's smile was warm.

This place I was at made me sad, the other kids had mommies and daddies to play with right now. I didn't have any daddy to play with me though and Mommy was gone.

When I walked past them, they stared and pointed with scared eyes – all of them were pointing at me. I looked at me too, scared of what I was going to see.

My hands were scary with purple marks and many lines with something red coming out of it. Some of the lines were black, like they were old, and some of them where pink.

My legs were thin and they also had those marks and lines and red stuff. The bottom of my feet was the baddest because they had a lot of the red stuff, especially at the bottom and the top of them. They hurt.

I didn't stop walking – Mommy never told me when to stop – but I didn't feel like it anymore. I looked back, hoping to see my mommy there telling me that it was fine now and that everything was going to be okay. When she wasn't there though my feet stopped by themselves and my knees fell down to the ground.

Wet stuff – like the stuff coming from the lines on my body but without any color – were coming from my eyes. They made me see funny things; the people were looking weird. Somebody was yelling for help but I didn't see who.

I felt sleepy.

* * *

My mission with Erza, Happy, Lisanna, and an Ice Mage idiot was simple enough for us to complete in just a few days. Taking care of a couple of thieves who were upholding a fort was nothing – we completed it in a few hours – and it was the time to get there that held us back. Switching transportation was the most confusing through it all.

The five of us were peacefully walking back, enjoying scenery we never got tired of looking at. Magnolia was coming up soon, just a couple more minutes and we would arrive. It was quiet out here – not inside of Magnolia's town, just outside where you could make the noisest racket by yelling. The yell would just spread and it would rebound back and forth till it was lost in the air.

One day I was going to find Igneel in a place like this – I could tell. Somewhere out there, maybe even some place that wasn't even in Earth Land.

That was a great thought – to find my parent and tell him all of the adventures that I've had. I'd tell him about how I've gotten stronger, about the fun days that I've been granted while I was getting stronger. I'd tell him all about my friends that I've gained and I'd tell him all about –

I cut off my thoughts there, knowing well about who I was thinking about but I didn't _want_ to_ think _about her. Not her chocolate eyes, not her lovely smile that she would give to give people hope.

Not about that day I saw her after she left.

I cleared it out of my mind before it seeped into my other thoughts and ruined my entire week.

It truly had been a shame that she left Fairy Tail but it had left everyone stunned by her move. People had looked at my team funnily, trying to figure out what the reason was behind _her_ disappearance. They seemed to be shocked even further when we couldn't even come up with answers to their questions.

Erza and Gray had been devastated, never expecting Lucy to actually leave the guild – never expecting the meaning behind the letters that had been sent to them. They thought it had been their fault for not asking Lucy sooner; maybe then they could have tried and stopped her.

Levy had also recieved a letter, she said, and some other documents that Lucy didn't want to show the rest of them. Especially to me for reasons that only some deity knows.

I was frozen with fear at the time. I felt like I was being betrayed by someone I care for – someone that I wanted to latch onto and never let go. I had opened up to her and then I had been left alone like a piece of trash.

I should have held on tighter.

_I was just barging into the place, just like I always did, looking for one specific mage this time – to discuss a couple of things regarding missions. The rest of the team was behind me, already packed for the next adventure we were going to have. _

_Immediately I asked where she was to Mira while I looked around, noticing the weird action of _no _action around the guild. Everyone was quiet with a few of them wide eyed and trembling. _

_As soon as they laid eyes on the four of us, who had just come in, they just started to shake even more violently. Mira didn't answer my question since she was too busy trying to cover up the tears streaming down her face. _

_Erza tried to understand the situation by asking the question they were waiting for. Mira tried to speak but she lost her voice after she started with "she."_

_I started to feel that something had happened to the mage in particular. _

_On the second floor's railing, an authoritive voice but shaky voice said, "She has left, Natsu."_

_We all looked up to our Master, who in turn, looked down on us in more ways than one. At least half of us were putting our faces into our hands or letting out shaky breaths – like idiots. _

_"What is wrong with you all?" he asked in his usual pitch. "I doubt that she would have wanted all of you would want to weep over her. You are Fairy Tail, not a funeral crowd."_

_My tear ducts weren't flowing – they weren't letting the tears stream out. My hands were frozen due to fear, not from Gray's ice magic. My usually fiery breath was out cold, blown away from the abrupt announcement. _

_I murmured, "that isn't true" before yelling it out to break the silence. Everybody flinched with expected surprise, even Erza, from the murderous tone in my voi__ce__._

_"That is IMPOSSIBLE!" I screamed at the man I called my Master. "She wouldn't do that to US – not to ME!"_

_I kept on rambling on and on at him, even when Elfman and a few others restrained me from burning down the building. That just made me even more furious, my flames lighting up even brighter and fiestier._

_The master of the guild just suggested that they put me in an unconscious state, with the easy help of Erza. One whack and I was out like a light._

_When I woke up again, I was in the infirmary with a huge pain in the back of my neck; courtesy of Miss Scarlet. I didn't know if it was from Juvia or it was just something natural to fit the mood, but it was raining hard. I walked, with a bit of difficulty, over to the window and opened the latch that closed it. I didn't care that the rain was splattering all over me. _

_I just wanted her back._

* * *

Natsu was freezing up as we walked and that was scaring me – especially because he was still smiling. Smiling was a thing that was done when he wanted everyone else to smile, not when he was thinking back to Lucy.

Lucy was definitely on my friend's mind, heck I'd bet my Exsheed wings on the idea. There was no mistaking that longing look in his charcoal eyes and that way he was closer to the team. It seemed like he didn't want the rest of us who remained – me, Erza, and Gray– to leave either. Lisanna had taken up a post to replace her, just so we wouldn't exactly feel lonely without a missing female in the team.

Though the effect wasn't that much like Lucy's, it was still comforting to know that we had another person on our team.

How long has it been since we last saw our Stellar Spirit mage – I think that it's been about five years. Aye, that seems right. Five long years it's been and a lot of us have changed in the time that went by. I think that even I've grown taller than Charle by now – just by an inch – and Pantherlily has become a bit like a rival because we're looking for a mate. Charle isn't pleased with either of us unfortunately...

The master has gained just a couple more wrinkles but otherwise he's as healthy as he has always been. His grandson Laxus has grown up in a lot more ways, helping others rather than hurting them (though his choice of words haven't exactly changed) and he even has a fiance! His team, the Raijinshu, weren't any different than their leader – skipping the engagment to a fiance part, of course.

Jellal has finally gotten a move on with Erza but he can only visit Fairy Tail every so few weeks because of his work. The Council still hasn't really forgotten him, still declaring him to be an outlaw, even after so many years. Erza says that she doesn't mind much but every time he comes around, she is always relieved to see him.

If you want to keep going on about relationships between my guild's mages, Gray still hasn't really figured anything out about Juvia's feelings. He is that clueless and oblivious to it but Juvia doesn't exactly come up with the best ideas to make him notice either...They both look only a few years older but they haven't exactly changed in their ways from before.

The Strauss siblings haven't changed either, besides Elfman getting a bit softer – by not saying "manly" things much – and Lisanna getting prettier with a little bit longer hair. Mirajane didn't look _any _different; this was obviously why she never failed to win competitions between modeling enemies.

Natsu is the same as he ever will be, with additional height and the infamous grin of his. Even if you don't see it very much, you know that it is there somewhere, still waiting to come out. Igneel's cotton-white scarf is around his neck, like before, and his clothing is the same but with a different size.

I can't wait to see what Lucy looks like when she gets back.

She will obviously be prettier and maybe she'll have a better appeal to guys now! I'm a type of cat so I wouldn't really know though...It'd be nice if I could find her for Natsu – he'd be happier after that. Everybody would. I'd sniff the air, high up in the sky and listen to the farthest oceans to see if she was there, and then I'd–

I stopped flying for a moment and hovered above the group, alerted with a voice I could hear coming from Magnolia, only about half a mile away.

Somebody was screaming.


	4. The Boy

Please don't hate it...I don't own Fairy Tail - only this story, my words, and my character...you can guess now (it'll be super easy) 'cuz she shows up here! She's nice and she isn't green haired... ^.^ hmmm looks like I made two - my bad! Oh…the action scenes are horrible so if you feel like it go ahead and skip those parts at the end!

Chapter Four

In a flash, we were running with reasons unknown – Happy just told us to hurry up and do it. I thought it was only a contest, one that I would surely be winning, that the Exsheed just wanted us to participate in. Hopefully it was – it seemed a bit frightening to see the feline with a serious expression on his face.

Whatever it really was for, it seemed that I would be arriving first at Magnolia's gates. The others, besides Happy, were coming up behind me while grumbling about having their peace disturbed. It was good that they had a taste of their own medicine for once!

However fun it seemed to watch them this way, it didn't seem appropriate when we heard another scream for help. Controlling my bird form to fly around our town was the simplest thing to do but around the town it was hard to hear with so many other voices, to figure out where it was coming from. The place where it seemed the busiest didn't fit – Happy wouldn't have been able to tell if someone had yelled out – but the quietest parts seemed right.

From aerial view, I could see a child on the ground in the middle of a square – with people attending to him or her. They didn't seem to have any ability to do anything for him (I could see when I swooped in lower) but they stayed to make sure that he was still breathing.

The rest of the team followed after my bird form, knowing that it had to be important now that I was moving fast. As I dropped from out of the sky, switching back to human form, I sent Happy along to find Wendy, who would be prepared to help once she got to the kid.

I did the normal thing and checked his pulse – normal – and inspected his wounds. I deducted away the idea of taking him to the infirmary at the guild since it was too far away from where Wendy. Though we have been living here for so long, parts of Magnolia are not places where we would want to end up alone.

Although this was an okay place, a place where people smiled for fun and not for devious reasons – at least for the residents who were living here – I could feel that this was a strange place.

When I turned around, I found out the reason why.

* * *

When Happy and Lisanna started flying fast to the town, I followed them in, signaling that Erza and Gray should come too.

I saw Lisanna trying to give us directions by pausing every once in a while before swooping off to another spot. Behind me, the red head and the idiot were asking what the big deal was. To answer their question, I kept moving to the place that Lisanna was guiding us.

I didn't stop to rest until all of us managed to catch up with the two – which was in a place that seemed to be going through poverty. The four of us ignored the conditions to aid whoever Happy had heard.

Around us were people flocking to see what was going on. They were just regular townsfolk but they still worried about who was on the ground. I took a look myself, wondering what had happened.

It was a kid about four years old who lay on the ground, his limbs covered with scratches and blackening bruises. His feet were cut up pretty badly too, like he had been running and walking for a few days non-stop.

Lisanna noticed our shadows and looked up at us with a hopeful expression, "Did Wendy come with you guys?"

We shook our heads in dismay while she sighed, taking up the boy's arms and asking me to take his legs. She nodded her head in the direction of a bar and when I realized where we were in specifics, I cautiously headed over as well.

"You sure about this Lis?" Gray confirmed, bringing up something that each of us had enforced into our minds ever since we got back from Tenrou Island.

"We don't have a choice right now," she replied as she used her back to push open the door.

Erza pointed to an available table in the corner while Gray helped Lisanna and I heave the boy onto it. The four of us settled down as we waited for Happy to get back with Wendy in his claws.

As we weren't at our own guild's territory, we were being watched carefully by its actual members. They all looked mean and rough – even the few women that were here had that attitude – but most of them didn't move from their positions. If they moved, they tried to intimidate us into running out of the door.

Of course though, the thing that they forgot was the fact we were mages of Fairy Tail – a guild that was stronger in its bonds and in physical strength than this one. We didn't move an inch from where we sat, holding our ground easily. Erza was the one who kept most of them back because of her glares and because she had also helped "pay" back what Fairy Tail owed to this place.

One brave girl walked right up to us, asking "What are you Fairies doing here?"

The people who were sitting around, drinking and eating whatever, were now trying to leave the bar – cautious of the woman talking to us.

Lisanna, the kindest out of all of us, told her the truth – we were waiting for a friend to come and help the boy who was injured. The green haired mage listened, nodding her head with a well played sympathetic look at the boy who was lying on our table.

"Well that's a coincidence," she said, adding an exaggerated happy tone to her words, "I'm a mage who specializes in healing!"

"And I'm an Ice Mage," I passively retorted _without_ thinking about Gray.

She tsked and put a pouty frown on her lips, giving me a glare that told me I shouldn't flatter myself. With us a bit distracted in our own arrogance, the stranger took the exhausted child's arm into her hands, without bothering to ask, and just picked up the rest of the kid like a rag doll.

I instinctively leaned forward, my feet looking ready to spring and pounce on the lady for doing so – the other three seemed to follow in suit. She didn't care though, that smile turning wickedly twisted while she held the boy in that uncomfortable position by the arm. Of course, this action made us even more suspicious of this woman.

We were further annoyed when she giggled in a high pitched voice, with an ugly smirk that made us all think it was very appropriate for her. She started to laugh even more when our auras seemed to darken.

"This is" she asked, enunciating each word, "a baby Fairy?"

As an answer, we drew our weapons – Erza ex-quipping, Lisanna switching forms, Gray ice-making a lance, and me lighting a flame with my hands. I attacked first, trying to make the enemy let go of the boy by launching my fire at her skull-like face.

She dodged it without realizing she was heading straight to another flame I lighted at her other side. Though her clothes were damaged, it didn't seem to matter, she just locked her blue eyes on me with a darkly annoyed look – a sudden change from that hysterical expression she had.

"There will be none of that, Fairy." she ordered me with a harsh tone. For some reason I froze up and didn't move, almost like I was following her orders. She nodded with a satisfied smile. The others held their weapons but learning from me, they didn't attack her as rashly as I did; avoiding the situation even by restraining themselves as they had been ordered to.

Makarov didn't like his mages to be messing around with Banaboster's Twilight Ogres – even if they did something that we didn't like – so while we were with them, we weren't supposed to fight. Especially because we were in their territory; we weren't the ones who would be able to do anything that would go against their rules. Rules that were made for their citizens, mages, and tourists to follow.

It sucked on how we were in one of their guild's bars.

* * *

Happy had burst into the guild's doors looking for Wendy and Charle with a look of an emergency in his eyes. I had looked down from the second floor, wondering what he wanted to do with one of our precious Dragon Slayers. Usually, this cat would look for his love but this time he also wanted her owner.

I delicately sipped my drink, watching him make a scene of looking for the little girl. He yelped when the others told him that Wendy had left for a mission the same time that Happy's team went out for their own. I was a little amused to see him ask around for anybody else who knew how to heal – with that an idea struck me.

"Laxus, dear, it seems that somebody needs me."

My fiancé looked up from a mission poster that he was studying, wondering if he should try it out just for the heck of it. He looked surprised as he walked over to join me at the railing. He was also holding an alcoholic drink in his hands but he set it down as he spread his arms out on the wood.

"If it isn't me, I might get jealous." he told me sincerely, his eyes playful.

I giggled, poking him on his nose, "You already have me, silly."

After pressing a kiss onto his cheek, I slid my legs onto the railing before letting go of my hold on it, dropping down to the ground floor without landing on somebody. Happy looked at me with relief and explained the situation to me with words I could hardly make out while he talked with such speed. He led me along in the direction of where our distressed team was supposed to be.

When we arrived, nobody we knew was in the square. All there was to be seen were a few children and their parents, playing around, some merchants selling food and goods, and a broken down fountain.

"Happy are you sure that this is where they are?" I asked, knowing that we were in Twilight Ogre's lovely presence. He nodded his affirmation while hovering in the sky – trying to look for them with an aerial view. I pulled out a powder from one the packs on my belt, blowing it with my wind magic so then it would lead me to where they were.

For some reason, the dust flew in the direction of a rundown bar with a shabbily built sign that declared it to be Twilight Ogres' property. I whistled for the blue feline who was still searching for his missing friends.

Together we walked inside, not expecting there to be any mess but there was. Natsu was trying to tell his team to run in the same moment that he was spewing fire at them. Gray was ice making lances to attack the woman who seemed to be controlling Natsu with her fingers – only to see the ice turn to try and attack him. Erza attacked her head on, slicing the air in front of her, before having her weapons cut her, then nearly ending up like Gray on the floor.

I widened my eyes with surprise before feeling anger when the stupid woman turned to Lisanna with such a disgusting face that presented an unwanted mocking look. In an instant, a stream of nearly invisible thread headed straight for my guild mate – an unintentional ball of fire aimed as well. Natsu cried out desperately so his friend could try and dodge _his_ attack, which she managed to do without any major injuries – only a small burn.

Gasping out from the bit of pain she was experiencing gave the Puppet Mage enough time to snag Lisanna's limbs with the thread. My friend struggled to get free but didn't succeed. Natsu yelled encouragement, still trying to break free of his bonds.

"That is enough talk!" the woman yelled, moving her fingers to send him flying. He hit the wall with a thud, slid down its horizontal surface, and lay unmoving on the floor. A twisted giggle filled the room.

As the puppeteer was distracted, I made my move to pull out a fan from my back pocket, swinging it open with a swift motion. The winds around me died down, obeying my magic and going with the currents I sent off with my fan. It wasn't an attack, just a disturbance in the movements of the threads restraining my friend.

It was a bit fun to watch her writhe in irritation as she realized that her movements weren't controlling her "dolls" anymore. I severed the magical threads that held two of my friends before the Twilight Ogre mage gained the ability to move them again. The four in total lay unconscious but that didn't matter to me – as long as they were safe.

I whispered to Happy to take the boy huddled on the floor and leave, heading to Porlyuscia's home in the forest. He nodded and immediately took off once he grabbed a hold on him. The female who had been toying with my friends caught her eyes on Happy, sending out something to get him.

The magic she sent was stopped when I knocked it away using my wind magic. As she finally saw me, the mage readied into another stance to try and get her threads to wrap around me.

"Another Fairy?" she hysterically said, "You guys never disappear like you should!"

Her index finger pointed straight at me, sending threads and string towards me, hoping that at least some of it would snag me. I smacked them away with my wind; feeling rather insulted that this woman would think even a centimeter of her magic would get near _me._

"You have broken the contract," I began, not even bothering to fight. "A contract between Fairy Tail and Twilight Ogre's guilds so there would be no misconduct between us. You, Puppet Mage of Twilight Ogre, should have obeyed the rules stated yet you didn't. Surely you will receive punishment for your crime from your guild – if not, then from ours. Unless you think you can defeat me and the rest of my guild, I suggest you leave."

The other female cringed but still scowled her defiance, knowing that she wasn't going to get any mercy from _my_ guild.

"That contract doesn't matter to us," she arrogantly proclaimed to me, "So what if we break a couple of rules – we'll find a way to weasel out of it."

On the floor, I could see an obvious thread snaking towards me but with a swipe from my silver fan, it blew away from me.

"You aren't going to find a way to weasel out of this." I casually stated.

"WELL IT'S FOR SURE YOU WON'T!" the woman yelled, shooting dozens of strands of the faintly illuminated threads at me, faster than _I _could move. They latched onto my fan, pulling it out of my hands and into the clutches of her lavishly decorated nails.

I glared at the woman as she laughed away, blowing wind on herself with _my _fan. Immediately I could feel that the wind I controlled was getting stronger – stronger than I liked to manage usually. I sighed and murmured "wind blades" to myself while I swiped my fingers in the air.

A huge surge of wind, from my minor movement, gushed forth to slice the giggling bitch – my aim more towards her tongue. She tried to control them with her magic but achieved nothing, only having her thread grasp at thin air.

My attack struck her as I expected, sending her back as she took on the attack with her arms. That instinctive idea of protection didn't help anything with her face still taking on damage. She let her arms fall to her sides to give me a first-hand look of the new wounds that would scar her face. It didn't look any better as bloody openings in her skin, leaked the liquid out.

"Don't think for a second that my fan is all that controls magic – all it does is restrain it."

While I prepped myself again with another set of wind blades, I confirmed whether or not she wanted to leave this place on her own. She didn't say anything any words to me, just flinched at the stinging pain my currents of air had given her.

The four behind me were waking up from their blank states, groaning a bit before widening their eyes to see the visible wind by my fingers, forming into something sharp. They all screamed for me to not do it or else I would face the consequences with Makarov. I paused before letting the wind die out, turning away from the enemy whom I hoped was now trying to get out of the bar before I made sure she never would.

I turned to the four who were behind me, wondering why the boy I had sent off minutes ago looked so much like Lucy Heartfilia.


	5. Porlyusica's

Um…so yeah…this is the part in which they start having questions about who the boy is and stuff…The guy at the end is Loke so yeah...maybe I should have made that a bit clearer...gosh I have horrible grammar…Claude is a villain and he is also a made up character…^.^ Please don't hate!

Chapter Five

* * *

Lucy

The shackles that chained my hands together were feeling somewhat itchy after so many hours that I tried slipping my hands out of them. It was too dark to confirm whether or not I was bleeding or if it was just sweat building up.

These shackles were attached to the wall, with a few chains linking in between so I could still move a couple inches. My feet dangled out, free, but they wouldn't be able to walk around while I was being cuffed.

If I had been quicker, I could have escaped with my son – and I would have if it weren't for Claude chasing after me. Why didn't I just run back to Fairy Tail; then I could have at least lived a life with Ryuu_. _

I didn't want to tell the father – I didn't want to ruin his future; not when my _husband_ owned most of it. I would have to though…he deserved every right to know about his son.

My bastard of a husband knew that Ryuu wasn't his when he came to visit me at my late father's home. Of course he knew – I never in the three years I was married to him, let him lay a finger on me. When he saw that I had a child who looked so much like me, he just knew the reason I never stood around him much.

I made my son run away from home when Claude came back to get rid of him. When I told him that I adopted the boy – a last minute resort I managed to come up with – he hit me for daring to lie to him. I couldn't hold him back very much – at least, not with the mages he had hired to help him dispose of Ryuu.

When they had managed to defeat me and my thirteen Celestial Spirits down to the ground for capture, I pulled them out of their gates and made them escape. With Loke able to stay out of the Spirit World the longest, I made him the one who would watch over my son – taking my keys away as well so Claude couldn't get his hands on them. If they ever caught up to Ryuu, my thirteen spirits would help take care of him as long as I lived.

That was why I put up with all of this torture and made sure I woke up the next day – then they would keep their side of the promise to make sure my boy was safe. Even if I couldn't run, Claude wouldn't kill me yet; not until he was satisfied in his malicious fun of making me and Ryuu's father suffer. When he wasn't here, he'd let this spacious prison torture me – making me wish that I had never cheated in the first place.

I didn't care if he stabbed me, burnt my skin, or beat me – I was never going to tell him who Ryuu's father was. I am loyal to only the ones that I love and it obviously wasn't this fool.

I heard somebody's footsteps begin to come up the spiraling staircase that led up into whichever tower I locked in. Just because it sounded like a stupid fairy tale didn't make it not true.

Fairy tales…Fairy Tail…I hoped that they were doing fine and that Claude hadn't figured out that the father was a mage yet. There should have been some new additions at least; plenty of people should have wanted to try out the guild – especially because we won the Grand Magic Games years ago. I wondered if Natsu was having adventures out there, with his team.

I didn't regret having his child – I absolutely didn't regret seeing him almost a year after I left them all wondering where I _had_ went. I changed the way I put up my hair after that, putting it into a simple bun like my mother used to do, so they wouldn't recognize me right away.

I would tell them the truth the next time that I saw the guild – as soon as I could see my beloved actually. Somehow I would escape this prison and I'd find Ryuu so then I could explain.

The person who had been climbing the stairs to get here was one of my maids, Regina, who was bringing up a tray that contained some food. They looked delicious to eat but I knew the price that was coming along with it.

"He wants to know whose _it_ is," she shyly asked me, looking down so she didn't have to see me. Regina had been my maid when I was the lady of this castle – awfully kind and devoted to me – but when Claude had decided to imprison me, she had been devastated.

"I don't have anything to tell him." I said blandly.

The girl of about nineteen years sat down and picked up a pastry, holding it out to me to take a bite of. I probably looked confused because she sadly looked into my eyes.

"Lucy-sama, you haven't eaten in days because of him," she told me before starting to plead, "You shouldn't have to suffer because you gave birth to a good man's child!"

I stared at her violet eyes, sad to see that she was trying to take care of me like the maid she was months ago. "Regina, I will be fine as long as he gives me water. Please watch out for yourself." I advised.

She shook her head and snatched a freshly baked croissant off the tray, holding it right next to my mouth. I knew my stomach was about to growl, but I cut the noise off; Regina would begin force feeding me if I let it go.

"He won't be any wiser to know whether or not the–" she began to coax before the door slammed open.

"Who won't be any wiser, maid?" a strong voice asked from the platform that connected my room to the stairs. The said girl was wide eyed with fear now.

To protect her, I spoke up, "You won't – that's who."

Claude closed his eyes, accepting the comment before striding over to slap my cheek for insolence. I took it, knowing that if I didn't Regina would be punished as well.

He proceeded to shove her outside, letting the guards walk her downstairs, while staring back at me viciously. It wasn't time for his fun yet – until outside business was finished, he wasn't supposed to play.

"You don't like the food that our chefs prepared?" he wondered aloud, taking a bite out of the croissant Regina had placed back onto the tray. He offered it to me, bringing it up to my mouth gently.

When I didn't bite into it, he pried open my shut lips and ignored my biting teeth, shoving the now desecrated pastry down my throat. I coughed it out, spitting the buttery taste off of my tongue as well. He dusted off his hands before getting up to leave my chamber.

I knew that it was going to be one hell of a fight I would have to put up tonight.

* * *

Erza

"Shizuka-san, why did you come here?" I asked for the rest of us.

The black haired mage didn't look back at us when she replied, "Happy needed someone to heal the boy."

Natsu looked at the woman with a curious face, "Since when can you heal people?"

The woman who was walking in the lead laughed, finally looking at our faces with a playful look, "The only people I know who can heal are Wendy and Porlyusica but because Wendy is away, the obaa-san is one we have to go with."

I usually didn't like Shizuka because she was too dangerous and wild but whenever she was like this, I couldn't help but smile along as well.

"So that's why we're heading there now?" Lisanna felt obliged to ask. The twenty-five year old nodded her head, turning back to the tree covered path in front of her. She giggled hysterically like the opponent we had faced not an hour ago.

I sighed when Gray suspiciously mumbled something that sounded like he was commenting Shizuka's sanity. The person didn't notice though, still laughing at what seemed to be memories while we walked to the infamous healer's house.

The boy was playing outside when we arrived – it seemed that Porlyusica decided not to harm a little kid who was already hurt. He ran around despite his bandaged injuries, picking up sticks and stones to create figures in the soft dirt. Happy watched and helped him, picking him back up if he fell down and making sure he didn't run off to somewhere else.

Shizuka went straight inside of the cottage, ignoring the gestures we made to keep her from doing so. We were assured that she wouldn't be smacked out with an old broom when she walked out herself, towing Porlyusica with her even, going deeper into the East Forest. The old Medicinal Advisor still managed to hit the hand that held onto the back of her coat's collar. They were arguing about weird things like babies and things that the four of us weren't interested in hearing.

So instead, we introduced ourselves by saying hello to the four year old. Oddly enough, he seemed to already know our names, claiming that his mother had told him who we were.

"You're Ursa, you're Leezana, you're Gay, and you're Natsu-y!" he called, pointing at each person he named. Gray hung open his jaw for a moment before snapping at the boy to pronounce his name correctly – Natsu and I held him back while we burst out in laughter.

Lisanna was giggling at the way her name had been dragged out, not realizing that Gray had just been insulted. The boy who had done the insulting didn't even know his mistake and just laughed along with us.

* * *

Gray

The kid just had to make that mistake didn't he? He knew – I just knew that he was acting like he didn't know! I don't know WHAT his mom was teaching him but I know that I was NOT gay and neither was my name.

Erza and Natsu were laughing too hard while they tried to keep me from punishing the kid. I knew that they were enjoying themselves over the confusion of my name. Happy was giggling with Lisanna about it and soon enough all of them were rolling around the ground, laughing about the kid's mistake.

He didn't look like he noticed it yet, which just pissed me off even more but Erza gave me a glare when I started to yell again at the lying kid again. While I waited for them to shut up and compose themselves, the kid sat down beside me, looking as though he was waiting too. I had to admit, he was pretty cute – I don't mean it like a pedophile – with a girlish sort of look.

I wondered where he came from – the place we were in when we found him was on the southern side of Magnolia, close to Twilight Ogre's guild. Did they do something to him – was that why he looked so beaten up? Or maybe he was here _because_ he was being beaten.

Happier situations didn't exactly fit the way we found him in.

I sighed, my attitude towards the kid changing as I made up as many possible situations that would fit with this kid. I hoped that somebody was actually trying their best to look for him and not planning on leaving him to die all alone. I didn't want him to actually be left alone like I was because of Deliora's destruction on my village.

"Oi, stop that!" I scolded when he was beginning to bury everybody in dirt, though I admit it looked pretty funny – and they deserved it. With that though, they began pushing away the dirt layers he had put upon them.

"Stop what?" someone asked from behind me and when I looked back, I saw Laxus' fiancé fixed on the boy. She caught my eyes and smiled, telling me aloud that it was exactly what I would have done as a child. I glared at her but she ignored me.

"Ryuu, come here please." She called softly to whomever that was. On hearing the name, the little kid looked up and grinned widely before sprinting over to Shizuka.

"Shizzy-sama!"

This "Shizzy-sama" smiled and laughed at her nickname but when Ryuu couldn't see, she glared at us to make sure we wouldn't repeat it. I was just as surprised as the others were, shocked that one of our guild's newest mages knew his name already.

* * *

Natsu

The question that, I am pretty sure, popped into everyone's head when they called each other by their names, was 'how do they know each other.'

It was on _my _mind at least; Shizzy-sama knowing a kid that the rest of us didn't know. It didn't really matter that she had been here for only a couple of months and that everybody besides Laxus, hardly even knew her well. She didn't talk a lot to many of the guild's mages and she hardly said a word about herself when she did. We didn't even understand the reason about why the two were even getting _married_.

Now here she was talking to a boy who seemed to know everything about her.

"What are you doing here?" she tiredly asked with a fading smile on her face. "Where's your-"

"Shizzy-sama, I didn't see you!" Ryuu interrupted but because he was too innocent looking, she didn't really care. "I didn't see you at all this year!"

She nodded back and started to say something but he interjected again so he could blabber on about how much he missed her.

When I took a glance at Porlyusica, who was inside the house watching us, she didn't seem to be holding a broom in her hand – ready to shoo us away with it. I couldn't blame her, it did seem to be a good moment to view and it would be a sad to see it ruined. For a moment it almost looked like a scene that showed a mother holding her child.

Mother.

I smacked myself on the forehead and remembered what I had planned to ask before the kid had named Gray "gay" and distracted me from the topic. I called to Shizuka, planning to ask who the parents were and where they lived but the two girls beat me to it.

"Whose is he?" Erza started with Lisanna to finish with, "And what is he doing here?"

Gray was the one who expected the answer for "Where did he come from?"

I glared at all three of them, wondering if they were mind readers as well. They didn't pay any attention to me but to Ryuu who was climbing onto Shizuka's lap and snuggling up against her. She stroked his long, orange colored hair and freed – with a puzzled look – all of the sticks that were mixed into the strands.

"Before I came to Fairy Tail, I met with a previous guild member who had left because of personal issues. She was very kind to me and was the one who told me about the guild. Back then she had been pregnant with a child – some three years ago – and she had been on the run from someone."

I spoke up to ask, "Who?" for the rest of us.

Shizuka's eyes flickered over to me when she said a name that I didn't want to hear. The others were surprised to hear that their friend had been pregnant with a child, three years ago. I didn't know what I felt; anger wasn't an emotion I wanted to send towards her and betrayal was something I was now used to. I know that I froze, unable to do anything else besides stay and listen to the rest of her story.

"She never told me whose Ryuu's father was and she never told me why she ran away – I guessed that it was for the baby. This boy here is Lucy Heartfilia's child."

I cringed at the pain I felt when I heard her name.

Erza was the one who moved forward to take a closer look at Ryuu – who stared straight back into her eyes with curiosity and a strangely familiar, wide grin.

* * *

Erza

He looked like her – with that face and the long hair. If you dyed it blonde, you would find a smaller Lucy – who was a guy with black orbs for eyes.

Ryuu was the reason why she left, right? So then he could grow up well and not amongst the rages that came with a mage's life. He wouldn't get hurt by enemies and he wouldn't be lonely whenever Lucy went out for a mission. I convinced myself that this was true.

Where was Lucy? Why wasn't she here with her kid and taking care of him?

I recalled that Ryuu was here alone – without his mother and father.

"Hi," I greeted in a more serious manner than last time. "Do you know where your mother is?"

"Hi Ursa, Mommy told me that you were very brave and that you were really strong and could destroy a LOT of monsturz!" he exclaimed, ignoring my seemingly unimportant question.

Shizuka understood what I had wanted to know probably because my eyes were shining with hope – hope that I could find my friend.

"The last time I saw her, she was at her father's old guild, with little Ryuu, but I doubt she's there."

"Why do you think that?" Gray asked.

"Because that was a few years after she left your guild."

Somehwere behind me, I noticed the Natsu was freezing up and cringing whenever Lucy was brought up. I felt as though there was something he should tell us about our missing comrade, but I didn't want to force it out of him. It'd come when the time was right, as it always was with Natsu.

I still hoped that he would speak up soon.

* * *

Lisanna

We were all walking back to the guild; the way we had started with before the mess of finding Ryuu. I knew that the others were thinking about Lucy-san, about what they were going to do when they found her – or even caught a glimpse of her.

I always felt like I was the replacement for her but I didn't care about that, as long as the rest of them recognized that I was back. When I was in Edolas, I wasn't alone there and I know that I'm not alone here either yet whenever I think back to the mirroring country, I think that the atmosphere there is more comfortable than the one here.

It's much more serious, even if the Fairy Tail guild over there had been endangered – all they had to do was run away from the king and now they don't even have to run with the Edolas-Jellal looking out for them. Over here, Fairy Tail is despised by the Magic Council and is wrongly feared for crimes that are exaggerated to the public.

I felt jealous when I learned that Lucy-san had been part of those stretched out crimes – which she had been here when I hadn't. She did the things I wanted to do before _I even _did. For some strange reason, I felt glad and grateful too, probably because she had made the guild happy while I presumed dead.

"Come here Ryuu," Shizuka-san beckoned, gesturing for the boy to get out of the bushes by the road. He had a tendency to wander around and our eldest had said that several times already. Natsu was with him in an instant, dragging the probing boy away from the shrubbery.

They acted like each other, in the way that they were quick in decisions.

"We're almost there – just a little more." Gray estimated. The little boy didn't have enough patience though, stomping the ground to show it. Natsu picked him up and threw him over his shoulder to see if it would be easier to keep moving now – only to have him be the one kicked.

We tried hard to not laugh (with Gray as an exception since he was already bursting out) when he was hit in a rather private place. Angrily (and in pain), he chased us to the guild with a crazy expression and Ryuu still over his shoulder; laughing like he had in Edolas – to scare us this time.

Happy and I waited in front of the guild, waiting for the rest of them to catch up, the first to arrive because of our accessible wings.

"YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT ME!" the dragon-acting Dragon Slayer yelled from somewhere and we could tell that Erza was finally fighting him; our knight in ex-quipping armor. We heard her shout to somebody else to put their clothes back on and immediately we knew that we also had a naked knight.

Shizuka-san was walking into sight now and I appreciated the way she didn't seem to care that soon enough, we were going to be in the way of the three fighters. The reason that she was late to catch up with us was undoubtedly to pick up Ryuu from a raging dragon, the boy strolling beside her as proof. Guessing that the three would be warring with each other through the night – just to test out only strength too – I pushed open the guild's large doors, letting Happy, Shizuka-san, and Ryuu in first.

I didn't think that I would see the only Celestial Spirit in our guild, pleading for help to save his owner.


	6. The Reason

Thank you for reading my story . I didn't think that I'd get even a single review :D TY again!

Chapter Six

Natsu

I don't remember who fell first but I do remember being struck down at some point by the scarlet monster. I woke up a couple of minutes later – the blow wasn't that hard this time – and saw that the other two had moved me onto one of the infirmary beds at the guild. Nobody was beside me, waiting for me to wake up.

The entire room was empty actually, the room dark with the lights dimmed to its lowest. I slipped off the bed and landed a little wobbly on my feet, reminding me of a few years ago. Outside I could hear familiar voices discussing things about someone, giving me an idea about where everyone else most likely was.

"Geez, don't run off again," someone was telling Ryuu, who seemed to be screeching out his happiness like he did with Shizuka. I walked out to see a man with some type of orange colored hair and ragged clothes, holding up the kid.

Maybe this was Ryuu's father – the person that…_she_ had a child with. Their hair was similar but Ryuu's was much more golden but when I couldn't look at his face, I couldn't identify him. He smelled familiar – something like…a lion.

"Loke?" I guessed. When he heard my voice, he stared up at me with a weird face, looking me over before doing the same to the boy in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, knowing that the Celestial Spirit hadn't been at the guild ever since his owner left us.

He growled, "I could ask the same to you."

I was surprised to see Loke try and blame something I didn't even know about – acting as though I should have known. He shakily pointed a finger at Ryuu.

"You don't even think, do you?" the lion accused. "You don't wonder who this even is, I bet."

My guild mates froze in their places, each of them looking like they wanted to stop him but they didn't know how. They knew something – I knew that they did from that look in their eyes.

"Natsu Dragneel, if you dare pretend that you–" he started to threaten but because of Master's hand, he stopped.

We all waited for some words that would speak some philosophy that came to his mind but nothing came out of our old man's mouth. He himself seemed to have trouble speaking.

"What are you guys talking about – I don't even know what's going on here!" I hollered with an irritated and confused attitude. "First I see Loke, then I'm being questioned, and then I'm confused about why this guy's angry at me!"

Loke set down Ryuu and covered the kid's ears when he roared right back at me, "YOU DON'T EVEN RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN–"

A wind whipped through the guild's main room, muffling his loud outburst at me. We all turned to Shizuka who was holding her fan out in front of her in a position that looked like she had just swung it open for use.

"Lucy-sama considers this private, Loke." She stated with a protective edge in her voice. "I'm sure that she will tell Natsu when she thinks the time is right. Do _not_ make a mess of what she doesn't want to clean. Levy–" the bookworm looked up from beside Gajeel "please tell us what was in the package given to you by Lucy-sama."

"She told me to not tell, even if you guys–"

"The situation seems to have turned dire, Levy." Master said, taking up his place again. "Please follow Shizuka's instruction for this. Loke already knows what is inside as he had come to report to us."

The girl hesitated for a moment before telling us to wait for a few minutes while she went to get the parcel. She called Erza to come with her, almost like she was afraid someone would jump her at the chance. I told her I would come too – eager to know what Levy had been hiding from us for the last five years – but Loke settled a hand on my shoulder.

"We have something to discuss." He spoke through clenched teeth. When I was about to protest, he pulled me back with enough force to slam me into the wall opposite of the doors – if I hadn't kept my feet on the ground.

"What's your problem?" I snarled.

He returned with a beasty growl as well. "I couldn't believe it when I found out! Lucy was never supposed to leave without us but she did anyways – just to meet up with you!"

I stopped my threatening aura involuntarily, freezing like I always did whenever I thought about her. She always slipped in whenever I didn't want her in my head.

Loke didn't even take it in and just kept on screaming at me until the others contained him so he wouldn't rip me to shreds as I was unmoving. The words he said were inaudible as a few things in my mind came together.

"Don't you have," the spirit gasped, still struggling to speak, "a sense for this kind of thing?"

It wasn't…possible but it didn't seem impossible either. Just because of that one time we saw each other afterwards? Loke was lying about this – he was just joking or he was trying to pressure me into being more mature or something. This just wasn't happening – this _couldn't_ be happening to _me_. It…it was too shocking to be true.

But it fit; all of the pieces fit together.

I was a dad.

* * *

Levy

I couldn't keep my mind off of the thought that Lu-chan had been _pregnant_ and I never knew about it. Don't people have baby showers for this kind of thing? Maybe some invitations to a house to break out the good news?

Though I know that novels are fictional and totally different from reality, I felt like Lu-chan was a fairy tale (no pun intended of course) character who jumped out from a book! Along with that feeling came some menacing thoughts towards Natsu and understanding ones to Lu-chan.

If she wanted the kid and she loved him, I was okay with that - they were a great looking pair after all. But if Natsu didn't share those mutual feelings, I'd smack him for knocking her up in the first place! I'm sure that the rest of the girls would follow in my stead, mostly because they had had a kid – he should at least take care of Ryuu.

I heard Erza shout my name, making me snap out of my thinking mind and back to what we were doing. She was with me, waiting for me to start helping in the search of the package Shizuka-san had told me to retrieve. I had to admit, I wasn't entirely sure where it was in my book-filled labyrinth of a bedroom.

The Armor Mage, however, didn't seem to be in the mood for that obstacle because she was already pushing my books all over the place. I was moved by her efforts so I also began to rummage in the places I last remembered seeing it.

Soon enough, I called out to her – who crawled on the floor to where my voice was – to signal that I had found it. I had only opened and read its documents once but I knew almost each word Lu-chan had wrote out to me in it. Erza looked as though she wanted to snatch it out of my hands to read it but she restrained herself until we were back at the guild's main room.

When we arrived, everyone was avoiding Natsu and Loke, whispering amongst them about a fight we didn't see. Erza demanded to know what was going on and why everyone was like this but when she laid eyes on a face she hardly ever saw on the rose haired man, her anger diminished.

His face was so shocked over something that he didn't even look like he was breathing. He hadn't moved even when we came in, just sat slumped in a wooden chair, his right hand on his forehead and his eyes wide.

Master was the one who told me to read whatever was inside of the wrappings I held in my hands. The other guild members were quick to repeat his words, especially Mira who had been hysterical during Loke's explanation. I pulled out the papers that were entitled "The Reason" and began to read timidly but since we were all silent, everyone could hear.

"The reason I left was because of what is after this page. I don't want it to be read by another person, so please keep it safe. At least you know the reason and probably won't be as mad anymore. The reason I leave it to you, is because I know that you'll understand and that you won't try to come after me like the others will."

I took the top page and shuffled it to the last in my hands, knowing that the suspense was killing everyone in the room – save for Loke, who most likely already knew about it, and Ryuu who didn't seem interested in our grown-up talk. The next page was written in someone else's handwriting of barely illegible scribbles.

"My dear Lucy, I am so sorry but I had no choice. You are gone with Fairy Tail and I am left with no heir to take the fortune I have managed to build up after my empire's failure. I know that you never have had any interest in wealth or status but soon enough you will have it again. I wish that I could say that it is up to you on what you do with the money and whether you like it or not, you will inherit the status that I have.

But I cannot say any more lies to you.

My time to leave this world is bound to come soon and I need an heir for the things that I have left – the things that should be your inheritance. It will be the company that I have started anew, the riches I have gathered, and the precious belongings that I have bought back.

If you are not there, all of it goes to the highest bidder who has an interest.

I already know who this highest bidder will be but I have no idea what will become of your lifestyle. Claude Yufukuna is the one who will most likely purchase it for many reasons that I would care to elaborate on.

He is, strangely, interested in taking you as his wife – for a motives unknown. Once already he was came to me and asked for your hand but I objected the offer for you. You are not the type to go and find a man of such stature for yourself – I know this at the very least.

As soon as he manages to find you, he will ask you the same offer – like a gentleman he seems to be. Gentleman or not though, I had a bad feeling about this man who suddenly came to me for blessings on a proposal while carrying a suitcase of money he cared to show me. I told him that I wasn't interested in it but when I did he began to inquire on what I wanted.

Luckily, you have been missing all of this and unable to listen to this man's constant pestering. Soon, I won't listen to it anymore though – I do wonder if that is lucky or not.

I don't know when you will come back and if you do so _after_ the auction, you will be – as much as I hate to say so – his property. I hope that you will forgive me for every grief that I have ever caused you. Please know that no matter who you are and what you do, I am proud of you.

Know that while you are clutching what you have – if you don't hold on tight, he will take it away."

I concluded to see a mixed variety of looks – a few portraying surprise while others showed anger at the way this Claude Yufukuna would most likely treat our Lu-chan.

* * *

Claude Yufukuna

I was so tired of hearing gossip from the maids who thought they were so high and mighty. I dealt with the one who dared to try and feed Lucy without getting any information.

She should be arriving at her parent's door by now; in that cheap coffin I had my servants place her in.

I sort of recall some screaming – or maybe that was from Lucy. Oh, I hoped that it was from my slattern wife because she deserved it for doing that to me. It was disgusting to know that she had gone and had an illegitimate child under my nose.

Work had made me separate from Lucy for such a long time – I didn't even realize she had went to live at her father's old home at that guild, Love and Lucky. If _she_ had at least been a loving and caring wife to me, then maybe I wouldn't have locked her up in that tower.

Then again, after I think it through, I might have even so.

How thankful I was that the affair hadn't reached publicity and that it hadn't been told to the world; it would have ruined the reputation I had started from scratch. Such a scandal would raise questions at the way I chose a wife.

"My lord," one of my hired mages called. I turned to see Kage standing with the household's butler at his side; the older, shorter man shaking a little but he still managed to hold his head high. "This is who you asked to see."

I nodded and gestured that my nervous butler come closer – with a small shove of help from Kage.

"M-my lor–" he embarked to say. I waved his words away, not interested in what he was trying to tell me.

"Have you done what I wanted yet?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"N-not y-yet b-becau–"

"W-well I-I c-can't s-stand a-around f-forever," I mimicked, "just WAITING for those maids to SHUT UP about unnecessary gossip. Do you know what could happen if their trivial chatter gets out?"

He nodded like the commoner he was in my great presence. "We cannot afford their loss though. We need them more than they need us. Their work is what makes this house clean and with food!"

I scoffed and took up the collar of his suit, bringing him up to my height.

"I don't need their tongues to be flapping though – I need them to be working! If they think that they can talk all day, I'll rip their –"

I paused, the perfect idea coming to mind as I spoke those words. When all of the plan and the explanation came together in my mind, I recalled that I was a genius.

I clasped my hands together, rubbing them together as I proposed the idea of cutting all of their tongues off.

Their reactions were quite different from each other's; Kage's was approving and even encouraging while the butler's was quite speechless – just the way I wanted him to be but with less of that pale look. Then he started to beg for me to not do it – rattling on and on about his wife and his daughter.

I clamped my hands over my ears to block out the noise while my other mercenaries were dragging the old man out. Kage closed the doors after they went out, leaving the two of us alone in my office. He leaned onto the back of the wall, facing me directly in the face as I paced around in front of him.

I waited for them to get out of range before I motioned for him to tell me all about what I wanted to hear.

"Lucy Heartfilia was in a guild called Fairy Tail, on a strong team, and because of this she wa–"

I stopped him right there with my own words, "I don't need to hear about that – I gave you, with great confidence, a mission to dig around her life and find out possible lovers for that infernal creature in that tower!"

"I am get–" he sassed with an aggravated voice. My hands twitched and in a flash, his head was crashing back and coming out with white dusty flakes of my wall. Luckily, he was still conscious – a little blood but nothing life threatening of course.

I only treated Lucy that way.

"What I was about to say, my lord," he rephrased in a more appropriate tone to me, "is that she was beloved, according to some rumors, by one of her teammates."

I was surprised that she hadn't been the one in love but it wasn't interesting at all to me. So what if she was loved by a teammate – the feeling could have been unrequited. My mouth opened to repeat what I thought but he interjected so I couldn't say anything back.

"In cases of working together, most of the time, feelings are created that are usually just as a state of friends but occasionally those feelings will turn into something more."

I shut my mouth and thought Kage's words over and the idea sprung onto me. I raised my eyebrows at the theory – which was a bit of a stretch but I didn't say anything in response.

Lucy falling in love with this…teammate who fell in love with her – that was so cliché.

"So…" I began to say, picking my words with care, "you're saying that this teammate and Lucy loved each other – and that this was with whom she had that kid with?"

Kage nodded, "That is my hypothesis and it could be right."

I glared my eyes at him before saying with a menacing voice, "And it could be wrong."

For a minute, there was silence in my office – more so from him than from me. I was still pacing, stopping a couple of times to think while staring out of my window.

The reason I liked this man so much was because he had sense and he had enough skills to make up for any experience he didn't have. He was a bit new to his own magic – I could tell he didn't appreciate his skills much but I appraised them. Kage Karasu was quite lucky to have a better power than I did. Keys were useless unless the summons were strong.

After many a thought, I smiled and threw a handkerchief to him – a little something to show my gratitude. He took it and wiped off the bloody mess his head was becoming.

"Find out who Lucy was close to the most at this guild…Fairy Tail." I ordered. "Do not attack _him_ – onlygive _them _a warning."

* * *

Loke

_We, the spirits under contract with Lucy Heartfilia, took turns on look out in Earth Land so we could wait for her to come back home. She had just dumped us on a table and didn't even bother to use us to keep her company for a day, so we were a worried._

_She wasn't dead yet – we all could still feel the bond between our summoner and we didn't feel as though she needed us at all. Capricorn told us that there was no need for any of this caution – he seemed to have complete faith in Lucy and the training she arranged to do with us. On the other hand, the rest of us were nervous._

_Virgo appeared back from the human world on her look out – earlier than she should have come. I stood up and opened my gate freely to Earth Land, knowing that whom I had patiently waited for was finally here. _

_Lucy was in the house, a suspiciously tired look on her face; I could _definitely_ blame her for being up so _early_ in the morning. _

_"Where have you been?" I interrogated like a worried parent would. "You were gone all day yesterday!"_

_Lucy was giving me a fading smile and a quick shrug as her answer. I glanced at my fellow spirit behind me, who was scrutinizing the human in front of us. She answered my glance by shaking her head like she couldn't tell what Lucy had been doing. _

_When I broke the question to our master, I had no real reply this time – just a couple more shrugs to prove nothing. _

_I could smell a familiar scent on her but I doubted my nose for the first time in a long while. He couldn't have possibly been with her all day – or with her at all for that matter. We had taken some shelter at her father's old guild but soon we were leaving so we wouldn't cause any trouble to the merchants. _

_A few more of my fellows came out of their gates and Aries_ _was the one who dared to know what I found out. I shook my head to say I didn't get anything out of my short interrogation. All of us heard the shower's water run to warm up for Lucy – something that took longer than usual._

_When she came out, she forced our gates to close – claiming it was because she was tired and didn't want us running around – Natsu's scent was still there._

I had told everyone my point of view of what happened the day she came home – the day _after_ she met with him. None of the guild surrounding me wanted to really get into details about what happened between the two, but they all wanted clues to where Lucy was. I didn't know where since she had ordered me to abandon her to take care of her son.

Natsu was looking down at the floor, fidgeting with all of the unwanted attention he was getting. There were a few whispers – nothing gossipy though, because of the respect they still held for Lucy. Ryuu didn't get a word we were saying and I doubted that he would remember any of this.

"H-how do you know that it's his Loke?" Lisanna asked, the despair barely hidden. "Did Lu-lu…_she_ ever tell you that Ryuu was his?"

I nodded and she trembled, digging her fingernails into her arm to keep her from doing what I predicted. I didn't want to know what she thought of Lucy now – especially because she had failed to finish her stammering of my owner's name.

Lisanna was staring with disbelief at Natsu's face, her eyes wide with that desperate look that was hoping none of it was true still. I had a feeling that she would burst into tears or something, now that the truth had been brought out.

Mira stepped out from the crowd – to draw attention to her and not to her embarrassed little sister. "When did this happen and _how _could this have happened without us knowing?"

The rest of us were all waiting for the answer from him – the confirmation.

After what seemed like forever, he sighed long and deep before saying, "I'll tell you what you want to know about what happened between Lucy and me."

* * *

Yay you get to wait for what happens in the next update :D plz read the post scripts – dats optional and I won't track down whoever doesn't ^.^

P.S. Natsu is supposed to be a little bit more mature – I did want to make him just a silly and strong guy but seeing as he's a _dad _and not just a _guy_, it didn't really fit…I don't know – does your dad blow fire, fight dragons, and start fights whenever he wants to? No, I didn't think so :P

P.P.S. Sorry for such a crappy name for the evil villain for this story…if anybody has anything that goes against that name, gimme some suggestions plz and then I'll ask other pplz to see if I should change it. Thank you very much :D

P.P.P.S. Yufukuna = wealthy, Kage Karasu (Japanese to English) = Killing Shadow…yesh I understand crappy names but it's what Google Translate told me ,


	7. The Last Time I Saw You

Sorry for making you guys wait so long it's just that I'm traveling around a lot…so yahhh I hope you guys like it – no I'm not describing anything inappropriate about _what_ they did…god this makes me feel like a weirdo -.- ohhh I saw a pic that seems to support NaLu (or is it LuNa?) and ish sorta a sneak peek to the movie coming out in august…Oh and um…umm…Thanks for reading! Please like it. I'll work harder if you don't! ummmmmm if you don't understand some stuff just ask about it and I'll try and answer you but if not then yeah…um…jeez JUST READ ALREADY AND IGNORE THESE WORDS! :D I love you if you don't XD

Chapter Seven

Lucy

Sometimes he was calm when he asked me that pestering question. He'd just say it out of the blue, almost as though he was happy to ask.

Mostly he was violent.

Despite what he was doing, he was wondering the question coolly. I was expected to answer with my bleeding lip and swollen, purple cheeks. I felt like an entire bruise – I wouldn't be surprised if I was too. The side of my head probably needed some ice – it would need a lot of it – and some gauzy bandages to stem the blood from leaking out any more. My eyes couldn't keep a hold on Claude, blurring his glowing green eyes and black hair.

I didn't utter a recognizable word but I was having trouble keeping from groaning with pain, coming from my ankle – the one he was squashing under his foot. I had an excuse to; a concussion, a broken or twisted ankle, and a whole lot of blood surrounding my body.

With the excuse or without it, I still didn't want to make him smile with his sick satisfaction. I had to hold on more – hopefully _Regina_ would come back and tell me how long I'd been in here now. I needed to give Ryuu a week to run before I made an effort to escape myself; the escape that would bring the entirety of whatever army Claude had hired to guard me and find him.

"WHO IS THE FATHER?" he bellowed, making me cringe at his loud voice. "WHO IS THE FATHER TO YOUR DAMN SON?" were his words while he brutally kicked me. Somewhere, another wound opened from his attack.

I gathered what I could of my spit and spat at him – my saliva landing on his cheek.

Claude wiped it off with his stained gloves, smearing my blood across his face. His foot crushed against my ankle even harder and I could be sure now that it was fractured at the very _least_.

My voice shrieked out a cry that wouldn't be answered.

* * *

Natsu

The beer I held in my hand was ice cold but it warmed my throat up nicely – causing me to like each mouthful I took in. This bar wasn't as good as the one that Mira ran, back at Fairy Tail, but it would have to do for the night.

Master had once told me to never forget her if I really did feel the way I did for her. One day I would see her again if it was ever meant to be – if not then that would be all.

Then Loke just had to tell me, huh. He just had to tell me the worst news of my life – something that just crushed whatever hope came from Master's words. Right off the bat came those three words and they weren't Lucy loves you.

Did the fact she had already been hitched mean that everything had been a lie?

I didn't want to think about it though – I had left the guild for a little bit after answering their questions about what had happened between the two of us. They had no problem with me doing so; their faces were all suggesting that I should though.

Even though Erza had suggested that shouldn't think about her that much, I was still dwelling on the thoughts of her. Her cheerful chocolate eyes and her small but lovely smiles – the ones that everyone missed – weren't things that would be easily forgotten.

Now that my own kid had showed up, they were never going to leave my mind.

_Gray was laughing something off with Juvia who was tagging along with us on our mission. Lisanna was talking to Happy about flying techniques, making motions with her hand for clarification. Erza was figuring out something with a local – our location. Nobody believed me but I knew where we were since I had came here with _her_ a few times before; soon we would come up to the building. _

_Love and Lucky was the guild Lucy's parents named her after – when the sign's 'Lucky' had turned into 'Lucy' when its 'k' had fallen off. I'd never forget anything about her._

_"Oi!" I heard the idiot shout to me, "You shouldn't go that far off or else–" _

_I ignored him, daring to walk faster as the rest of them began to attempt to call me back as well. Erza was finally realizing the situation to stop discussing things with the local, enough to scream for me to get back to them. I kept walking without flinching at her command._

_There was an obvious crowd of people; during the fall people harvested and with the harvest came the people to buy fresh produce. As the place was a merchant's guild, it would be bustling with buyers and sellers. Those who weren't selling food would be selling their goods – or trading them – to those who wanted things for next-month Christmas presents._

_I wasn't looking for something that could be bought; at least, not with Jewels – I actually wasn't looking for anything. I rather just wanted to get lost so then I _would_ find what I was looking for – I've heard that the method worked well. _

_"Excuse me," someone beside me said, trying to move past me while carrying something big in their hands. The sound of her voice was kind of familiar, almost as though I had heard it plenty of times before. I kept walking through the crowds, hardly paying attention to the voice that had excused itself – I still moved for her (it didn't sound like a deep voice)._

_She walked ahead of me, holding a bundle of things in her hands – the stack wobbling, threatening to fall down. The boxes she was holding were gigantic compared to her and it didn't seem as though she could hold onto them for long. _

_That was proven with a few more steps forward, when one toppled backwards while she walked ahead. It was a package wrapped up in colorful paper – no doubt expensive with all of its decoration – and it was one of the smallest out of all those that she had. _

_I picked it up and was about to tell her that she had dropped it, but it seemed that she couldn't hear a word I said. The box said that it was for someone named…Plue._

_Plue – wasn't that the name of one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits? _

_"Hey!" I called to her again, starting to chase after her with the present in my hand – a prepared excuse if it _wasn't_ her. _

_The blonde was slowing down as she reached a doorstep, the boxes balanced on one of her knees and held steady by one of her hands; while the one that was free was fumbling with her jacket's pocket. She stuck a key into its socket before turning it, unlocking the door that it locked. _

_"Lucy!" I yelled out – not even bothering to turn her four-lettered name into a question. The girl turned back and I could see the face I missed so much. _

_"Natsu?" she said aloud as she turned my way. I could hear her breath catch when her brown eyes saw me. She dropped the things she was holding, each of them tumbling down the few steps leading up to her house._

_The both of us were quietly staring at each other despite all the things that we wanted to say. Really, what was I _going _to _say _to a woman I hadn't seen for a year? A woman that I _loved_ – a woman who never told me her answer about how she felt in return. _

_With my bitterness, I started to pick up the fallen packages while she turned away  
towards her door to finish opening it. A few minutes later, the both of us were in her home; not speaking as I dazedly stared at her. _

_As casually as I could, I tried to make the tension between us disappear, "Who are the presents for?" _

_"Loke, Plue, Aries – all of them actually."_

_"What is this place?" I asked, looking around to see all of the furniture new and shiny._

_She smiled a little before telling me that it was going to be her soon-to-be home. Then she broke the question first of, "Why are you here?"_

_"I could ask the same–"_

_"I asked first Natsu," she interjected. _

_"First is the worst." I playfully retorted without any humor. Lucy shook her head as she lightly laughed. _

_She looked as though she was thinking about how to answer me when she asked, "Did you come to taunt me?"_

_I crossed my arms and sighed, "You didn't answer me."_

_"Probably because I didn't want to," she 'answered' back, her voice rising slightly with each word she said._

_"I wasn't talking about this question." I said, "The one from last year."_

_She froze when she recalled my words before turning away from me again. Her slender fingers fiddled with the slightly ripped paper on Plue's present, trying to mend it with some tape. _

_"So it's a no?" I bitterly asked, her silence speaking for her. _

_Her head turned towards me, quickly responding, "I didn't say–"_

_"Well I can tell that's the way it is Luce." I said to her, putting a hand through my hair to try and calm myself down. _

_"I didn't say that Natsu."_

_"THEN WHAT DID YOU WANT TO SAY?" I burst, my sadness turning into frustration. "YOU LEFT THE GUILD AND NEVER TOLD ME ANYTHING – WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO THINK?" _

_"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO THINK ABOUT ME!" she yelled. "I WANTED EVERYBODY TO FORGET ABOUT ME SO YOU GUYS WOULDN'T–" _

_She stopped herself and dug her nails on the table we had placed the packages on. I lowered my voice when I asked what was wrong, immediately worried. Lucy shook her head, making the idea of restraining myself even harder._

_"What's wrong," I persistently interrogated, getting closer to her and managing to hug her. "You don't tell me anything anymore." _

_I could hear and feel her crying, clutching onto my shirt like she wasn't going to let go. The thought of her crying was painful and the sight was even more torturous. There were plenty of questions that went through my mind while I held her. _

_But the one that made me the most curious was: What is she hiding from _me_?_

_I wasn't going to make her tell me, not when she was crying her eyes out. The mood didn't seem appropriate to force her to say something she didn't want to. _

_We stood there even though she had stopped; just the two of us holding onto each other. _

_"I'm sorry Natsu," were the words she surprised me with. I never expected for her to say those words to me. _

_"It's okay Luce," I murmured, stroking her silky strands of hair. "It's okay."_

_She tried to push away from me but was stuck between me and the table behind her. I shook my head when she politely asked me to let go. _

_"I'm never letting you go." I whispered. Lucy widened those beautiful brown eyes and sadly smiled back at me. _

_"I don't want to let go of you either." She softly admitted. _

_There was a space – an unwanted space – between the two of us and soon enough that gap was shut when our lips met. _

_"I must be dreaming." I said with a gasp when we finally broke away._

_I knew I didn't want to wake up if it was._

* * *

Gray

Damn Erza, making me go look for the flame brain in the middle of the night – especially when the conversation was just getting interesting. They were all going to figure out how to break the news to the kid – that his dad was there and that he would be able to get with him. She wanted Natsu to be presentable to his son.

Juvia was beside me, so it'd be okay until she would start talking about babies.

Who would have thought the Natsu had turned himself into a guy who was stronger and smarter, had a kid. If someone had told me about it, I would have laughed and called him crazy.

But there he was, stronger, smarter, and well…much more mature than he was years before.

"Gray-sama," the girl beside me called, "do you think that Ryuu-san knows?"

I shrugged at her question, "Depends on whether or not Lucy told him – I doubt it though."

Juvia had a surprised look on her face, "Why? Gray-sama knew his father, right?"

I nodded, looking inside the remaining, open shops and bars to see if Natsu was in any of them. She continued after seeing me confirm it.

"Why would she not tell Ryuu-san about his father?"

"'Cuz then he would start asking questions about where he was and why he left."

"But Natsu-san said that Lucy-san left him after they…" she blushed – something I tried ignoring.

I shook my head again, "If Ryuu was told about Natsu, then he'd be all fussy and want to see him, right? It'd be easier if he didn't know who it was."

She sighed and stopped talking to help me search for the guy who had lost his lover.

All of this sounded like some dramatic play – oh this girl's pregnant with this guy's kid and this guy doesn't know! It was seriously stupid. Lucy could have at least told him through a letter or something like it but Natsu swore that she never did.

So…why didn't she?

I brought up with question to Juvia, something to replace the boring silence while we walked through the streets.

"Maybe Lucy-san didn't want Natsu-san to know like she didn't want Ryuu-san to – as Gray-sama said, it would have been easier."

"But Lucy knows things of what's right and what's–"

"Gray-sama," Juvia bravely interrupted. "There is no right or wrong in this kind of matter – it was up to Lucy-san to decide whether Natsu-san sh–"

"But he had the right to know!" I argued. "He's Ryuu's _dad_ for Christ's sake!"

"Lucy-san was the one taking care of him!"

"Why are you siding with Lucy all of a sudden?" I asked, "Isn't she your 'love rival' or something?"

Juvia blushed furiously while stammering, "We-well i-if sh-she h-had R-Ryuu-s-san with N-Natsu-s-san, L-Lucy-san isn't Juvia's l-love ri-rival."

"Are you serious?" I questioned, laughing a little – a strange sour laugh – when she nodded. "That's kinda stupid."

The girl's blush was lasting ridiculously long, her eyes darting away each time I turned back to look at her.

I wondered why I felt kind of happy each time I saw her face.

* * *

Ryuu

Natsu-y was telling the people things about someone. He looked really sad when he was talking about him. I wondered what he was talking about that was making Logee look so mad. I didn't want to hear what they were saying because their words all seemed very sad. What they were talking about was probably something I wasn't supposed to listen to anyway.

It's always about something. If I looked around the room, I would see people talking _about something_. If I saw Shizzy-sama and Mommy, I would see them looking mad _about something._

All of them didn't look they wanted to play with me anymore – not even Shizzy-sama.

Shizzy-sama used to be around Mommy and me a lot before she went away and never came back to see us again. The last time I saw her was when she was with Mommy and they were both sad because Shizzy-sama wasn't coming back to us again.

I was watching Natsu-y and the people with the funny looking faces. They had wide eyes, open mouths, and sometimes they looked at me for a long time with those faces.

For some reason, I didn't like it; the…feeling they gave off to me made me shiver.

It wasn't like they were angry at me – it wasn't like the looks that mean man gave Mommy when he saw me. They just seemed really…surprised. Yup, that was the word – surprised.

I tried to climb onto Shizzy-sama's lap since Logee had let me down to hit Natsu-y. She picked me up and put me where I wanted to go without looking at me. When I saw her though, she seemed scared. I wondered what Shizzy-sama was so scared of, especially because she was strong.

There were so many people here that I could tell were them since Mommy had told me all about them. Nobody was watching me when I was on Shizzy-sama's lap but I got to see everybody and name them all.

Meerahjayne was very pretty and her brother Ellfman wasn't as short as an elf – just like Mommy said! Their sister Leezana almost seemed like she was going to cry but she was really cute like Meerahjayne!

Massterr was as tall as me and his hat was really cool. Laxsus was next to Shizzy-sama, looking meanly at me while I sat very close to her – when I hid _inside_ her, he seemed angrier.

Levee was next to Gahjeel and sometimes she smiled at me – I smiled too. Gahjeel looked really scary but when he was next to Levee, he wasn't as scary-looking. Wendee was beside the two of them, sitting on one of the tables with Panthurleelee, Charlee, and Happee next to her.

Ursa, Logee, and Gay were next to Natsu-y, listening carefully to every word he was saying – like the rest of the guild. They had mad faces while they looked at him; he was actually receiving that face from many of the men.

I think that they were blaming him for something but I didn't know what it was – maybe that was what they were talking about.

After a while, Natsu-y stopped talking and began to walk to the door to leave.

"Shizzy-sama," I called to the woman I sat on, tugging on her jacket's sleeve. "What's he doing?"

She looked at me and put her hands through my hair, "Natsu's going out for a bit while we talk to you. Don't worry, he'll come back."

"Then why does he have to go out?"

"Doesn't he look tired Ryuu?" she asked back, "Wouldn't you want to go out for fresh air if you were that tired?"

"No, I'd wanna sleep." I proudly answered. She laughed a little and ruffled her fingers through my long hair again.

All of them gathered together while Shizzy-sama brought me to a place she said was the special corner – a place where she said nobody was allowed to go. It didn't look very special at all though; just a board with papers on it and a couple of tables and chairs.

But since Shizzy-sama said it was a special place, it must be that I was a special kid! I asked her if I was and she nodded.

"You are very special Ryuu," she told me. "Your mother told me that once."

"Really? Is it because I'm her baby?"

She nodded and shook her head, "It was because she said you had a wonderful power."

My eyes grew bigger while I moved my head up and down to tell her that I did. Shizzy-sama then asked, "Can you show it to me, here?"

I smiled at her and nodded my head before hopping off of her comfy lap. Mommy never let me use my power at home because she said that the house might burn down. I never asked her what it meant but she always said that burning was a bad thing for a house to do.

I stood in front of her like I was doing a show – like I did with Mommy once – and held out my hands. It felt nice to get to play with the things called flames again.

"Please don't tell Mommy or else she might get mad."

Shizzy-sama bobbed her head before calling Laxsus to the special corner and they talked about somebody for a little bit. I didn't hear anything because the other people kept watching at me to so I wouldn't.

Instead, Laxsus asked me, "Kid, do you know who your dad is?"

I shook my head, "Mommy never told me."

I think everyone in the room sighed but I didn't know why. To cheer them up I told them the things Mommy told me about my daddy.

"Daddy always helped Mommy whenever he saw that she was in trouble. He didn't like to see anybody hurt in front of him and as long as they weren't mean, he would help them. She said that Daddy was the one who brought her to a geeld." I let them know. "He was funny, nice, and he loved her very much. She said that she left Daddy 'cuz there was a bad man chasing her."

* * *

The Guild

"That would be Claude," Loke said, "I know that the two of them were married but, I guess because of Natsu, she never loved him."

"Then why get married to him?" Mirajane demanded to know – she looked angry most likely for her younger sister's sake. "If she never loved him why did she leave us and get marrie–"

Levy interrupted, "Remember what her dad told her – that she would be Claude's property if she didn't return soon. That was written to her about a year before we came back to Fairy Tail!"

"Why try and return back to us now though?" Erza asked, "If she was his property then shouldn't she have stayed with him?"

"She had Ryuu so maybe she didn't want Cla–" Master began to suggest.

Shizuka interrupted, "No. Lucy-sama didn't love aniki."

Everybody looked at her, wondering if they heard the word for "older brother" correctly.

"Claude Yufukuna is your older brother?" the eldest of them all asked for the rest.

"Step brother to be exact. The first son of my father and his mother – I'm an illegitimate child."

While everyone pondered on that gossip, Loke brought up something from the past, "I was surprised to see you here, you know – after your _aniki_ had gone and decided to attack Lucy."

"I didn't know he would do this – in the first place why aren't you going back to find her?" Shizuka snapped.

"I'm trying but Luce told us to take care of her _kid_ – first time she ever ordered us to do something," he said. "I can still feel her command, so she's not _dead_."

The doors banged open at the hands of one hell of a drunk, who came dizzily trudging towards the silent crowd that watched him. Gray came in with Juvia, with another thundering set of the door crashing again, Gray looking as though he was trying to come up with an excuse – Erza looked as though she was going to explode.

"I thought I told you to bring him back _sober_," she menacingly assumed while Natsu slumped over a nearby, empty table. Happy was hysteric when he laid his eyes on him, flying towards him as though the man was dying. Instead, he gave a couple of grumbles before quieting down.

Gray stuttered his apologies and excuses while Juvia scooted away so he could take the damage Erza could possibly send out. As she reached Lisanna's table, where the girl was covering her face on, she sat while patting her previous partner's back. Some soothing words were exchanged between the two and the conversations over the matters began again.

"We don't know where Lucy is, do we?"

"She should be somewhere with Claude, right?" someone said – and everyone's heads swiveled to Shizuka and Ryuu.

"I'm illegitimate so I have no knowledge of wher –" the woman told.

"You were hired by him once!" Loke cried out.

"Well now I'm not!" she defended. "You guys don't have to trust me to believe it – check me; I'm clean of all the blood he made me shed by now. I came here because Lucy said this place would be good for me. The only place my father talked to my mother was on a bed – in other words, I don't have a single clue to where his son could be."

Laxus spoke up for his fiancé, "Besides, he's a wealthy guy – he can either be freely seen or pay to be hidden."

Levy nodded at his comment while flipping through a couple of books, "I don't see anything about him in these – Laxus may be right about paying to be hidden."

"Then what about his father?" Erza questioned, going to all points. Levy shook her head.

"I don't see any records for anymore Yufukunas' – they might be erased by Claude for his own purposes."

The room was quiet again, failing to think up anything else. Ryuu looked around curiously; wondering why everyone was like this and why none of them seemed to be happy.

"Are you talking about my mommy?" he asked in a small, shy voice. Nobody answered his question but he could tell by the way their frowns seemed to droop even lower. He ducked his small head down.

"Mommy said you were the people who never gave up in anything and that she missed you but because of the bad man, she ran away. The bad man didn't like me and he called my mommy a 'horr.'"

Natsu froze on his table – the sound of his teeth grinding together heard by all through the silence. No doubt he was going to feel vicious to that certain 'bad man.'

"Mommy told me that the bad man wasn't my daddy. Mommy must have loved Daddy a lot, enough to make her be the one that's hurt," the boy said, his head down but the floor beneath his chair pooling with drops of tears. "I hate that man – I hate them both. I hate my daddy for not helping Mommy even though she said he always did."

The man, who was now cringing from the pain that came from the kid's words, wasn't sure what anybody what else would have said or done. He had always been the one to protect Lucy when she had been hurt – the one who always came to save her.

Why did it hurt so much to know that this time, he was the one being protected?

* * *

Kage

"Sir," another mercenary called from behind me. "What are we supposed to do?"

I sighed, annoyed by this familiar man's incessant string of questions. Was he deaf and need for me to perform signs so he could understand my words?

"We are to warn them – make them tell us who the boy's father is."

"Whose father?"

"The wench's son's father, you fool!" I exasperatingly told him. He still didn't seem to quite understand me with his face looking as dumb as a dog. He opened his mouth again to make me clarify it all over again.

I think slitting his throat was sufficient in making it clear.

The others weren't disturbed by my action – possibly because I had done it plenty of times in front of them. Eating the weak or the slow was necessary to survival; as I had taught my men.

We were now short one man but six people were enough to intimidate still. If it came to a fight however, we were at a disadvantage with a measly number of us.

I sighed, knowing that it was needed to help the guild stay away before biting through my skin on one of my fingers. The blood that dripped out molded into whatever I wanted it to be; this time it was one beautifully _bruised_ and _broken_ woman who would help in scaring them.

"None of them are to die at _our_ hands." I ordered. "We want information; save the bloodshed for the day they try to take back their fallen comrade."

* * *

SOOOOO um just this once, I'm doing this character profile about Ryuu for this little part so yeah…read if you don't get Ryuu that much.

Mother: Lucy Heartfilia

Father: Natsu Dragneel

Age: Three – don't know if you guys think he acts like it though

Hair Color: Orange (if you mix pink and yellow you get orange like red and yellow)

Eye Color: Black

Skin Color: Like Lucy's…a.k.a normal?

Magic: Fire (like Natsu's)

Personality: Shy, Nice, Innocently Funny, Playful, Understanding, Mature in thoughts don't you think?

Learning Ryuu's Names Translated

Ursa = Erza Leezana = Lisanna Natsu-y = Natsu Gay(XD) = Gray Shizzy-sama = Shizuka

Laxsus = Laxus Levee = Levy Massterr = Master Makarov Gahjeel = Gajeel Wendee = Wendy

Panthurleelee = Pantherlily Charlee = Charle Happee = Happy Mommy = Lucy

Mean/Bad Man = Claude Logee = Loke Meerahjayne = Mirajane Ellfman = Elfman


	8. Daddy's Blood

Here you go :D Thanks For Reading :D

Chapter Eight

Master

Who would have ever guessed that Natsu was Ryuu's father? I knew that one day, Lucy and his relationship would have deepened even further – with the way they were always with each other. I knew – I am _sure_ – that everyone would be rooting for the two of them; save for Lisanna of course.

I never would have thought that the two of them would eventually have a _child_ together though – not at yet anyways.

Poor Lisanna, to have to know that the love of your life would never love you back because he'd already found his 'one'. Those who understood her feelings kept glancing at her ducked down face.

Loke seemed to be frustrated and angry with Natsu – the attitude of a father towards a future son-in-law that his daughter never introduced him to. I found it comical to see him act that way – wondering at the same time if Lucy had to put up with this manner for the past years, despite the fact that _she _was his master.

As the conversation went on, everyone began to forget what they had planned to do – tell Ryuu that his father was there. No one seemed as though they wanted the _father_ to be the one to say it, despite the two's now obvious blood relation to each other.

They were all absorbed by the child's sorrowful face, orange hair, and charcoal black eyes.

The rose-haired man was showing no emotion even if he was the kind to always be jubilant and swing moods in seconds; the only thing that showed he wasn't a statue was his breathing.

If I were Natsu, I would be upset to never hear from Lucy and then have a young boy who claims that she is his mother, show up. I'd wonder why she never showed up in front of me again as well.

It was obvious he was upset, of course – the tell tale dizziness and aroma of alcohol told that he had been doing some heavy drinking. Upset at Lucy, I wonder? It hadn't been Ryuu's fault that he was born – even Natsu, who could be a scatterbrain sometimes, knew more than an average child about how _that_ worked.

I scrutinized him at his table; he did the same with the child who was at the center of attention to everyone – the one telling about his troubles. All of the staring and glances made him not notice me do so, like the child whose father was inspecting him from afar.

I called the young boy over to me, telling him to wipe his crying eyes before pointing over to one of the loneliest men in our guild. He nodded obediently and set off running in his father's direction.

* * *

Ryuu

"Massterr told me to stay next to you Natsu-y!" I said, smiling the biggest smile in my life to cheer him up. He gave me a nervous-ish look and smiled a little back at me too.

"Um…Ryuu," he started to say.

"Massterr just wants me to stay next to you," I told him again in a chirpier voice, looking around at everyone's curious eyes. "He said that you were very lonely – do you know why everybody is looking at me Natsu-y?"

He shook and nodded his head and danced a glass of water on the wood table, and then he sighed a very big sigh.

"Ry–"

I interrupted by telling him all about my mommy since everybody was talking about her – I could hear very well. It always cheered me up whenever I thought about Mommy – even if I was sad just a few seconds before, like this time. I smiled when Natsu-y also smiled and reddened at my words about Mommy.

He chuckled a little and then began again, "Ryuu please let me speak."

Natsu-y waited a little bit to see if I was going to open my mouth again now but I stayed silent like he probably wanted me to be.

"Your mom and I…um…well I'm–"

"Gee!" I excitedly yelled, making the people around us jump a little bit – just a few inches because they were listening to us very carefully. "Is this a secret? I like secrets! Mommy told me once that secrets are meant for special people! Am I–"

"You're my son," Natsu-y suddenly said, interrupting me.

I still went on by finishing, "–special to you?"

He smiled at me like Mommy smiled at me – very small but also very sweet and nice.

Sun…I'm Natsu-y's sun?

I looked at me to see if I was glittery, shiny, and very fiery. I could check off one of those from that list but I wasn't Natsu-y's sun at all. When I told him that I was sorry and said that I wasn't a sun, everyone laughed at me.

Meerahjayne pinched my cheek, "Silly head, he meant it like you're his little boy."

I quizzically stared at her like she was a crazy woman – which I heard from Mommy that sometimes she was. "No I'm not; I'm _Mommy's _little boy."

Gay rolled his eyes at me and almost started to explain something but then he was stopped by Shizzy-sama's pretty fan. The older woman whispered something into his ear – something not 'appropriate' for a child to hear how he was born.

"I wanna know that!" I yelled with a winning smile.

"You won't though," Shizzy-sama stated very clearly – it wasn't really for me though, more like to Gay. She pointed her fan at me to stop me from asking again; about to scold me for wanting to know something I wasn't supposed to know yet.

Then somebody burst through the building's gigantic doors with somebody behind him. People in the building moved into poses that looked like they were going to fight, and looked at the man with very mean eyes. I didn't care about him though.

I cared about my mommy who he was dragging along.

* * *

Shizuka

Immediately, once he had come through the doors the entire guild had went into their battle stances; cautious of the man who had barged inside.

Nobody seemed to recognize him – or more like nobody besides me recognized him.

Once upon a time and all of that crap, I used to be somewhat of a mercenary just like Kage – before I met Lucy-sama and rescued Laxus.

I could tell who he was looking for as soon as his eyes started to move around the room, studying each of them closely. Instinctively, I pulled Ryuu towards me using wind magic and swept the two of us to the S-Class Mage floor without a sound.

My only trouble was keeping Lucy's child quiet as he squirmed, trying to escape from my close hug. Unfortunately it was necessary for the moment – until they left, Ryuu couldn't go downstairs. It wasn't as if they were looking for the harmless boy; Ryuu could die out on the streets for all aniki could care.

But if Ryuu said any hint (or pointed any fingers) that showed Natsu was his father, trouble would start up. Personally, I didn't mind a fight but I had the best chance to keep him quiet.

The two of us were at the side of the railing, our backs covered by the wall that made a corner – big enough so that we could stay there. I peeked at what was going on downstairs by looking to the side.

"Where's the boy?" an eerily polite voice asked – that was Kage's without a doubt.

"What business do you have here?" another person answered – my fiancé's this time. He was taking up a position beside the stairs that led up to where we were, protecting me. He knew what I was doing by the way I was covering Ryuu's mouth with my hand; I had to trust whatever plan he was concocting.

Kage was ducking his head down, tsking at Laxus' warm welcome to him. His hand was still holding onto Lucy-sama's hair while she held back her tongue. She was hardly recognizable as the Lucy-sama we knew – a woman with a striking figure, naturally silky hair, and a scar less cover of skin.

This woman before us was _unnaturally _thin with tattered hair and a body with many marks of blackened bruises, cuts, and dried blood.

Something was wrong, not just her looks – the way she acted was wrong. Wouldn't she scream for us to run – or at least look for Ryuu? Was she trying to seem like she didn't know any of us?

"I'm here to find a boy with orange hair and bla–"

"That almost seems to make it a search for a pedophile, not for a businessman." Gray taunted without much humor. "What are you really here for?"

Kage tugged up at Lucy-sama's hair, causing her to give a shriek – while a cringe came in a wave from the guild – as she was pulled in front of him. Natsu looked almost as though he was going to attack him just for doing so but he froze for some reason.

"Do none of you know your own Lucy?" the man asked, squatting down now to yank her hair downwards so we could all see her face. Her brown eyes – they were the same as always but they weren't searching for anybody. It was almost as though she didn't even know where she was – did she forget about us somehow?

Erza seemed to be the one on edge the most, more than the way that Natsu looked – her fingers already clutching the hilt of one of her swords. Her voice was cracking when she threatened, "I'll slice off your fingers if you keep your hold on Lucy's hair."

He smirked but complied with her request, letting go of the strands and making the said woman's head fall to the floor. Erza, Gray, Happy, and Mira started to run towards the two of them but Natsu unfroze to stop their quick action.

"There's something wrong," he claimed, crinkling his nose. "It doesn't sm–"

"Natsu!" Erza screamed, "That is _Lucy_ – not an enemy."

She broke through Natsu's hand barrier that blocked them as he was about to speak out; the rest of them followed her lead – going to tend to Lucy and unarm Kage.

They were being stupid – stupid people always make mistakes! I could tell that Ryuu smelled it as well – the overwhelming scent of blood – since he wasn't trying to break free anymore.

"THAT ISN'T LUCY!" Natsu screamed just before the four of them reached the body on the ground and the man who was being too innocent for his devilish character.

* * *

Erza

"What are you–" I began to say only to be interrupted by their cries to look out.

Behind me there wasn't Lucy anymore – there wasn't that man either – but pools of red, shades darker than my own hair. A stench reeked through the air; one that had been there before but now it was even more pungent.

"Blood," I whispered, realizing my mistake.

_Yes blood Titania – finally you realized it._

The man's voice? I looked around me but I only saw the bloody puddles and my comrades just standing there. What were they doing standing there?

I tried to open my mouth to speak but it wouldn't budge.

_Look down. _

I did, noticing on that there was a spot on my black boots, where it was cut open. A small stream of blood was rushing _into_ my boots – not out of it. Immediately I tried to slice it away, not caring whether or not it was a liquid but to just stop it even for a second.

_My_ hands wouldn't budge on _my_ unmoving sword at _my _neck.

* * *

Mira

What was happening – I couldn't move.

I was walking and then instantly when I walked close to Lucy, she melted into a puddle of blood. I felt a prick on my foot, but it didn't hurt much.

My next step was in the same spot I was already standing in.

There was a rush that ran upwards and around my body and soon enough I couldn't tilt my head to the side to warn the rest of the guild.

_Don't try like the Titania please, it's rather annoying._

That was that man's voice – what did he do that stopped me?

_No, no, no – stop moving now._

At those words I stopped rebelling against _myself_.

My fingers latched onto the side of my neck and threatened to make it snap.

* * *

Happy

I didn't stay close to the ground – not with all of that stuff grossing me out through my nose. It smelled as bad, almost rotten, in the air as well.

I noticed that those who were on the floor and near the blood were affected by it. Gray, Mira, and even Erza froze and made poses as though they were going to kill themselves.

"What're you guys doing?" I shouted from above, flapping my wings as high as I could go in the building.

"Happy watch out!" Natsu yelled, spitting a ball of flame to draw my attention. As I flew to steer clear of it I saw what he wanted me to get away from – the same thing that all of them were beginning to try and avoid.

There was a trail of blood in the air, defying gravity and looking as though it was trying to catch me.

For what though? The three already captured were all much stronger than me, even if I had honed my skills through the years.

Captured did that mean…hostages?

"NATSU," I yelled to tell them what I thought, "I THINK THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE HOS–"

A red string of liquid wrapped around my foot as I spoke, dragging me down at a much faster pace than I could fly against. I was dunked into something wet and suffocating – a pool of blood.

I couldn't finish what I started to say as something unwanted pulsed through me.

* * *

Natsu

I spewed more flames with Romeo and Macao's help, making a barrier between us and the blood pools. I set up another around the four of them who were acting weirdly. Though blood was a liquid, it wouldn't be able to quench our flames well.

The thing about our barrier though, was that only I would be able to get through.

The guild's doors opened again – slightly aflame but not burning down – to reveal the man who had been in front of us minutes ago. There were a few men behind him so that should be that he was the one that led them all; those few men didn't matter.

Our enemy was the guy who dared to show Luce's face.

"What do you want," I growled – not making it a question but a statement that said _if you don't want to get killed then get the hell out. _

He chuckled like everything was so funny, walking close to the flames without fear of being burned. His men stayed in their positions, looking ahead or around, searching us for something.

"We just want to see the–"

"He isn't here," I interjected – screw his words. His tongue was making that frustrating sound again and he tilted his head to the side.

Mira's neck went a bit closer to being broken.

"Nee-san!" Elfman and Lisanna screamed, trying to get her attention. Their sister's eyes seemed to be struggling to look at them.

The man crossed his arms and grinned at us, "Glad we get along – please extinguish the–"

A strong gust of wind blew out the fires immediately, causing our attention to turn towards Shizuka, who sat with her legs over the railing. She held Ryuu close to her in one arm.

"Get out of here Kage," she ordered. The man's irritating smile and his cruel eyes widened with surprise.

"Well if it isn't the great Shizuka-sama." Kage taunted, "Why aren't you by Cla–"

I made a move to attack the man on starting to hear _Claude. _This guy knew Lucy's husband and probably her whereabouts too.

Shizuka swung her fan and I was knocked back by her wind magic. She hissed at me, "Don't be hasty."

"Ryuu is here," she continued, "but he doesn't know his father."

What was she trying to do – we were supposed to be protecting Ryuu from these guys! She was telling them what I just tried to hide.

I wanted to scream that at her but I felt a hand clamp over my mouth. Laxus was keenly staring at me and giving me a look that told me to keep quiet.

I didn't understand what was going on – why should I keep quiet when that woman was exposing my son?

* * *

Gray

This situation was horrible in their eyes – I could tell by the way that Shizuka was showing off the kid. In mine though, everything was going just fine.

Thanks to Shizuka, I could get out of flamebrain's fiery ring quickly and get the others to Wendy.

I had noticed the blood crawling into my own veins but I had stopped it from fully controlling my body by freezing the blood in my feet. The others had been fully controlled because they hadn't noticed that the Kage dude was controlling blood – if that was even possible.

Blood fuels our movement, pumping from our hearts and around in under seconds. By controlling our blood he could easily control our movements. This had to take practice though because you would need to know what to control to make others move.

That was why Mira, Erza, and Happy seemed to be suicidal; to not look out of place, I sculpted a sword and held it at my neck like Erza was doing. With that, I looked like I was going to kill myself too.

Shizuka saw through it though – probably because she had an aerial view of everything on the second floor. Now she was distracting Kage so I could find a way to break the others from their predicaments.

Seeing as freezing blood worked for me, it should work for them as well – freezing their bloodstreams and getting Natsu to unfreeze them before they froze entirely would be a cinch.

Going towards the rest of the guild without being caught by Kage's men was not though. I looked to the wind mage on the stairs to see if she could do a bit more.

Kage wasn't letting on any intent on leaving the Fairy Tail building though which made everybody's battle stances even more menacing.

"Don't try to lie to us Shizuka-sama."

"If I were lying then would I be giving your sorry eyes a sight to see of Lucy-sama's son?" she asked menacingly.

Kage didn't seem daunted by her words when he said, "Then we re–"

Not taking no for an answer, Shizuka took advantage at the way Kage was overconfident in his relaxation, sending a gale of wind to him. For a moment he was knocked over, toppled over his men.

At this chance, I let the ice in my feet melt and grabbed Happy from the puddle he had sunken into, making an ice barrier when the blood chased us. Erza and Mira had sucked in all the blood around them – Kage probably did this so he'd control them better – so it was easy to go through with my plans for them all.

My ice froze in the blood Kage had leaked into them while Natsu blew fire close to them so that they'd come back to us. Wendy was beside us, using her magic to keep the three from frostbite. Once their color came back to their cheeks, the girl began to try and heal them.

"It's not working," she anxiously said, "Why isn't it working?"

Somebody landed beside us – Shizuka – and set down Ryuu, who ran to sit next to those who were injured. I noticed that our enemies weren't there anymore – she and her fiancé probably took care of them for now. The priority was healing up the idiots unconscious – fighting would come later.

"If Gray," I looked to her as she called my name, "keeps the ice longer and freeze most of whatever Kage's blood you can find in their bodies – Wendy will take out the crystals later."

I nodded at her command, doing what she said immediately so my friends would wake up soon to help us hold back whoever was coming back for us.

* * *

Kage

That woman…that traitorous woman doing this to us – why was she on their side in the first place? She dared to go against her own people. She was Claude's sister; therefore she should be helping him out.

This was something that needed to be told directly to him; the whereabouts of his _beloved_ sister.

"Now what are we going to do?" one of my men asked, dusting himself off. "The plan to–"

"That plan has not _failed_ yet," I said, making sure that he understood that my pride was nothing to play around with.

Shizuka-sama was keeping us outside; I could tell from the way my men weren't able to get through.

I searched in my mind, to see if there was some of the linking left. Surprisingly there wasn't even a drop that was movable – their links were all frozen.

_Oh, so that one I captured wasn't actually captured fully? No wonder he was using magic._

How wonderfully convenient.

* * *

Ryuu

The grown up people had all told me to stay there and be good boy. I was supposed to watch the three lying behind the counter and not look out from behind it. There were shiny glasses for drinking, plates for eating, and a bunch of silver forks, spoons, and knives. There was also these big large barrels that had some brownish water in them – it didn't taste that good to me.

That man – that weird mean man had done something strange to Meerahjayne, Ursa, and Happee had all been acting funnily. Now they were fine though – just sleeping.

"Oi what are you doing?" Natsu-y shouted. I stayed behind the counter like they told me to but that didn't mean that I couldn't peek at the side right?

My long hair drooped sideways when I looked sideways, doing what Mommy called peeking. Everybody was looking at me – no they hadn't noticed that I was because they were all trying to get away from Gay or trying to stop him.

* * *

Gray

I realized that I hadn't taken the blood Kage had first tried controlling me with, out of my system – and my blood wasn't frozen anymore. Natsu must have melted my ice when we were thawing out the other three.

"Cut it out!" Natsu yelled at me; his eyes burning with befitting, fiery anger.

What was I doing – no, what was _he _doing? Telling me to cut it out when _I_ wasn't doing anything at all – my body was just moving on its own. Is this what that guy had done to Erza, Happy, and Mira? Mind-control using blood?

_No, it's just body control – you're still thinking aren't you, Gray? _

My fist swung at flamebrain's face and he ducked, looking at me like I was just looking for a fight. I tried to motion that I wasn't looking forward to that at all but my head, my hands, and even my eyes wouldn't even budge to give a signal to them.

This was a hell; to have no will in my own body.

_Just go with it. _

Go with it? This guy was telling me to go with hurting my friends?

No way, even in this hell!

_Too bad – don't give a guilty conscience after I'm done though._

My feet walked, carrying me over to the bar – the place where we had stashed the three who were healing up. Hopefully the three were healing up and would wake up soon – maybe Erza would smack out the guy out of my body or something.

But…why was Kage taking me over there?

Ryuu's eyes looked up in surprise at me; an innocent, wide grin stretching across his face. What was he doing over here? He was supposed to be with Shizuka, wasn't he?

No…she was working on that barrier.

My hands suddenly reached over the bar's counter, snatching the little boy by the back of his shirt – along with a knife. Kage controlled me to pull him up and turn around to face the guild _without_ an ashamed face.

My mouth opened to speak words that weren't mine.

* * *

Natsu

"Who is this boy's father?"

I could tell that Gray wasn't himself now – even he didn't do jokes like this and he wasn't that stupid. He had heard me clearly – but the other guy hadn't.

I began to answer back to _Kage_; that holding my kid by the scruff of his neck while holding a blade against him and using my _friend _to do it, wasn't going to get him anywhere. Now I knew what his purpose here was to do, and what Shizuka had been trying to do since the start.

But if she wanted me to avoid any attention she could have asked though – it's not like I _can't_ do that.

"He isn't here, like Shizuka told you," I stated plainly.

Gray's face twisted into a satisfied, twisted smirk when he said, "So you know him?"

I shook my head, undaunted by him and his logic – though I suppose, that made sense. Gray looked at me with Kage's bloody eyes, smiling something that wasn't Gray's kind of thing.

"Are _you_ him?" he asked, causing the room's temperature to drop. I didn't think that I showed anything to him but he was still smiling. Then he just laughed and held the serrated edge of the knife closer to my son. His eyes were dark and his expression suddenly became serious.

"I asked you if it was _you._"

I tried to talk him out of it, "Why would it ever be me?"

Gray's hand holding the knife made a smooth stroke against Ryuu's cheek, opening up a gash. The boy's shriek resonated throughout the room and everyone's cringes rippled, while I clenched my fists and glared at the abuser.

"Bastard, you've got guts to cut a kid," I growled, suppressing the punches I felt like giving him. They would come soon anyways – the way that he was threatening Ryuu and all.

Kage (this wasn't anything Gray would ever do to me) held up the boy, crying and kicking, giving another slice to his cheek – deeper this time too. This time he didn't scream, only giving the man a fat smack on the cheek – leaving a red mark when his small hands bounced off. That was my entry.

I ran forward, feeling like I was one of Shizuka's winds, grabbing Ryuu while Kage was slightly stunned. With my other hand, I drove a fist into his miserable face – packing every hateful thought into it. Gray's head knocked against the counter, rendering him unconscious if my punch hadn't.

Wendy came immediately, using her magic to sedate him – we'd figure a way of getting that guy's weird blood, out of him soon enough. I looked for Shizuka, thinking that she might have a way to make her winds colder and make it freeze the blood.

The woman stood next to the closed pair of double doors, her hands on the both of them. She was muttering some words and creating a barrier between whoever was outside and us. Apparently she had gotten a bit too angry at Kage's appearance at the guild and blasted them all outside – now she was making them stay there.

Ryuu stood below me, staring at me with big, cute-looking eyes. I smiled at him but strangely, he didn't smile back.

"Are you my Daddy?"

* * *

Ryuu

When Natsu-y froze, after I asked my question, I could tell that he was. He itched the top of his head, smoothing back his hair a little – but he didn't say anything. He was my Daddy and he knew didn't he?

I was mad – very, very mad – at him.

"You never looked for us – he never looked for Mommy. You never helped Mommy at all! If you had looked for Mommy then you would have found me!" I screamed, the clear stuff dripping from my eyes again. "Then Mommy wouldn't have to be with that mean man! Why didn't you stay with Mommy?"

When I screamed at him, Natsu-y yelled back at me, "That's 'cuz your mom left me! I didn't know that she had been _married!_"

"WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE LOOKED FOR MOMMY! THEN SHE WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN HURT!" I shouted, balling my hands and beating him. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!"

Natsu-y didn't say anything back to me after that – he tried to hug me but I ran away to Shizzy-sama. She hugged me and looked at Natsu-y sadly before carrying me somewhere. She let me cry on her shoulder but I tried to not make that much of a mess. She kept softly patting my back, telling me that it was okay to cry as much as I wanted though.

My eyelids felt heavy on her shoulders and then I closed them after I hiccupped a little. Her warm hands laid me down on something soft and then she put down another soft thing on me.

I didn't want my Daddy. Daddy was an idiot. Daddy wasn't Mommy's savior.

I wanted to stop calling Daddy 'daddy' but I couldn't.

* * *

Natsu

Shizuka told me not to bother him – not until he wanted to talk to me.

I didn't know what to say to Ryuu either – even if I wanted to talk to him. I mean, what would you say to your child who said that he hated you? Even if it just _might_ have been on impulse, I didn't want to make him hate me more.

I tried to keep my mind on other things, like the building that the wind mage had sealed up – what we were discussing. She said that they would still find a way to get in because of Kage. He would find a way to weasel himself in, one way or another.

"I can't hold up the barrier for long either – they could just come back in from the door or all around."

"How long at most can you hold out?" Loke asked. She said somewhere between ten to twenty minutes.

I wanted to ask what magic they used; focusing on what they were like – Kage's magic was exceptionally strange with all of that blood magic. Extremely strange magic – everybody could see that.

"What are we up against?" was what I asked though, enlarging the entire circle. Shizuka pursed her lips while she thought, before replying.

"We should be fine right now – they're only scouts after all – but everyone should be wary of Kage and make sure that the people you go up against are not clones. Kage loves to turn people against each other, leave those guys, and then kill them after seeing their friends all dead – a mental kind of thing."

Shizuka advised us to seal up all cracks that are found, "Anything that opens to the outside is dangerous to us because he'll attack using the blood – everyone is affected by that."

The black haired woman who sat on top of a table, smiled as she fiddled with her fan and her drink – seeming to know what we wanted to know.

"When I worked for my brother, I wasn't near him – he always sent me a letter or a package containing things that he wanted done and usually he wanted people. People to do this or that and sometimes he wanted them to do nothing ever again," Shizuka confessed, "I was to do those kinds of jobs and that was how I met Lucy-sama. After she told me her story, I decided to leave my brother's line of work and come here."

Levy asked the question that seemed to be a bit avoided, "How do you know so much about him - Kage?"

"Well, I _should _know. After all, I'm the one that handed him to my brother for hire."

Levy seemed satisfied – as did the rest of us. Laxus didn't look surprised at her story so we assumed that it was the truth. We were all cautious of Shizuka now since she was suspicious as one of our newest members – it was just that we were all on the edge of what was happening.

The best part was that we knew who Lucy was with – the bad part was that the guy was probably going to kill her soon.

I couldn't let that happen – I would never let him kill her.

Why though…why wait so long just to finish the job? I asked them all that question, knowing that they'd probably come up with much either. All of them looked to Shizuka who sighed with exasperation.

"Is there something wrong?" Lisanna asked with the same level of irritation. The older woman shook her head, still stretching a wide smile across her face though.

She looked straight into my eyes – her own were amused. "Can you really not figure out why aniki wouldn't kill Lucy-sama – if he ever would actually?"

I shook my head as an answer, receiving a set of hysterical giggles from the woman. Sometimes I understood why Laxus would want Shizuka as a wife but this was not one of them.

Her laughs sobered up eventually as she told us something that made things even worse in our hopes to get Lucy back.

"The Heartfilia Konzen was once extremely wealthy, then it declined due to Lucy-sama's canceled arranged marriage, and then it prospered to an even greater height than before. Do you think that she is only valuable in terms of friendship and heart?" she explained.

"My brother did not buy her for her wealth – take my word for it; no, he was looking to uphold his status in society and make a finer reputation with Lucy-sama as his wife. Imagine if you manage to get a hold onto her and sell her, she's worth so much – in every term, money and beauty!"

Shizuka paused, taking a rather long drag with her bottle.

I really didn't want to imagine what money you could get with Lucy – not with these feelings. Was this what she had been trying to protect me from? If I had been with her, who knows what could have happened to me.

Those thoughts made me angry – I was supposed to protect her, not the other way around!

The woman began to speak again, continuing with her dark story, "And anyways many people in this world only want money – or they have too much they'll start flinging it around. Once he gets rid of _you_ – the guy who impregnated his wife, his profits can go on rise – his wealth gets even higher. This guild has its funds from job requests – he can corrupt those funds and destroy Fairy Tail in all. Ryuu goes on the streets – with this harsh world and spreading news, do you think anybody will help an orphaned _illegitimate _child? And Lucy-sama's disappearance can be easily lost within time."

There was an expected silence throughout the guild after hearing all of this. I _almost _felt like remarking on the fact she should have said this when I asked what we were up against – obviously it wasn't appropriate.

"Exactly," was the one word that none of us anticipated to hear at that moment – though we knew that it would come. The venomous voice that pierced through that silence was that of our enemy's.

* * *

Lucy

I was woken up by the jangling of keys from some stories below – followed by footsteps that boomed every time they stepped on the stones that made the stairs to my _cage_.

I could tell that something was wrong – the night was not a time for anybody to come up and surely nobody was coming to rescue me. I had heard the news about Regina from Claude when he had roughly told me my friend was dead.

The gate-like door opened, my husband stepping out from the shadows created. He was holding something in his hands – holding it like it was filth though. It smelled a bit familiar and I could tell that it was white from the way that the moon's light, coming from that tiny crack in the wall, bounced off of it.

"I've got a gift for you."

"I don't want it."

He chuckled at my words before moving it closer to that small cranny that led to open air and a long drop outside – though size of the hole was about enough for an ant to get into, light could shine through.

I widened my eyes, knowing what it was and why it smelled familiar. Even without the nose of a dragon's, I knew what _he_ smelled like.

"Enjoy," that bastard sarcastically said, flinging the item at me. I pushed it towards me with my elbow, tears streaming down my cheeks.

Why was this happening – was this really happening even? How _could _it happen? No, I had to be staring at the impossible!

Those questions were all that I could think of while I stared with crying, wet eyes at the scarf that I had always seen around _his _neck. Every single time – it was there, purely white with just the black stitching that formed the square patterns.

Now it was stained a deep shade of red.

* * *

Like O M G. It's red – why's it red? Ish it blood? Whose blood? Kage's controlling blood that is extremely fricking annoying in my mind – splashed onto the scarf to daunt Lucy? Is it actually Natsu's? Is it some random person's? Or is it just this stupid author being ridiculous? (scary music comes with the last one)

Anyways, thanks for reading! Sorry for what always seem like the extremely long waits for the updates – I get lazy downloading music, listening to music, reading manga, rereading manga, and reading manga/ listening to music! Don't blame me – it's summer!

So um…yahhh

People I pray (though I'm agnostic so I don't know to whom) that you don't hate me and that you don't drown in your tears if you cry while reading this stuff. (not this line of course the stuff that makes the story; you're weird if you cry here though…)

See yah!


	9. Critical Condition

As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if people can't do any moves without saying their names – like they've got to call out the power to use that move and stuff. Like (for example) Natsu's doing Fire Dragon's Roar and he calls the name and stuff and then he's blowing fire everywhere – can't he just blow the fire…I know it doesn't seem as cool, right? Eh, oh well now I find this little conversation between just myself rather stupid…soooo please forget this and move on :D

Chapter Nine

Happy

"Hey," somebody – Natsu? – called, smacking my furry cheeks a little. "He's waking up."

Somebody else, a faint voice, told him something but I couldn't really recognize it well. Natsu replied, telling the person that he was bored.

I grumbled, turning over in the sheets I was in. I was tired – couldn't an Exsheed get a little rest around here? After all, I'd been captured by this blood thing – drowning in it too – and then I'd been frozen. I needed my rest!

"Fyvuh morr minits Nawtsuu," I said, my words slurring just a _little_ bit. Somebody laughed and pinched my cheeks tightly, stretching them a little bit.

"Yay, you can talk now too, but I'm not Natsu."

Talk? I was talking? I forcibly opened my eyes, rising from my lying position. The person-who-wasn't-Natsu was actually Mira, smiling ever so happily at me. She was wearing what looked like a hospital gown – like she had been at the medical center.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked, yawning even if it was. She shook her head and those silvery strands followed along. I was stretching when I asked, "Where are we then?"

"Magnolia's hospital – Wendy had been healing us up," somebody else replied, a voice that was kind of modest. "She's working on Gray right now."

The young girl called over, "You're next Happy."

I nodded and looked at my surroundings, making sure that I was alive with or without her check up. Erza had been the one who had told me that Wendy had been busy with Gray; while lying on her bed peacefully for once, with a bunch of flowers at the side of her bed. The warrior mage was smiling at the fact I could look back at her.

I made a joke about how many flowers that _Jellal_ had obviously sent, causing her to flush red with embarrassment, making her face blend in with her scarlet hair. She stuttered a bit before looking away to conjure up a conversation with Wendy.

Mira giggled, "You should eat something – everybody's slept for a couple of days with everybody else on edge."

She walked over to Charle, who had came in to deliver a basket of fresh fish, while saying that it was not a big deal (after eavesdropping at Mira's words) and that she was glad I was back again. I tried to grin directly at her but she flew out of the door after dropping the food down on my bed.

I reached my blue paw over to the full basket but couldn't manage to pick one up and bring it to my mouth. The female bartender laughed at me before helping me eat it.

"We all couldn't hold a thing once we woke up too," she told me with an assuring. "Gray couldn't even move a finger after Natsu punched him."

"I heard that Mira!" the humiliated man called. Erza snickered while the woman looked at him with an innocent smile on her face.

I looked at Gray with surprise, "Natsu _punched_ you? Why?"

"So then Wendy could get Kage out of me – he took control of me," he told me. "He didn't _kill_ me or anything, so don't be so surprised."

The room turned cold when he said the word 'kill' and everyone looked at him with a dark glare. He didn't return it, looking as carefree as ever – even in his injured state.

When Wendy came to take a look at me, asking numerous questions, I saw that she was also bandaged up, even though she was our medic. It wasn't just her, many of the guild members were in bandages or in the healing process. Around me, I saw normal villagers – healing from injuries typical in cases of invasion.

"Where's Natsu?" I asked – usually he'd be in my place and not the other way around. I was worried – would I find him in the same condition?

She gave me a look that told me something had happened – something that wasn't in our favor. The last thing that I remember happening was that man melting and drowning me in rotten smelling liquid.

Nobody had died right?

Wendy paused her questions to tell me that Natsu was in critical condition – but alive. The cold in the room warmed up again, as if Natsu had come in and lit the room up in his flame, and everyone stopped their vicious glaring at Gray. I was extremely surprised.

"Critical con– then why aren't you working on him?" I asked, adding at the end, "Really, I'm fine!"

"Shizuka and Ryuu are going to Porlyusica's house in the East Forest to pick something up – the both of us have our hands full with healing guild members and watching over them," the young girl told me, ignoring me, giggling with a bit of overworking madness. "First time Porlyusica's let so many people into her house."

I didn't want to know that at all – I wanted to know if my best friend was awake and where I could visit him. When I asked though, Wendy shook her head to say that I couldn't.

"Nobody besides me, Shizuka, Ryuu, Master, and Porlyusica know where Natsu is – we won't tell either." Wendy told me, saving me the trouble of asking.

"Wh–" I started to argue.

Somebody knocked on the already open door that led to the beds all those who were healing lay on. Shizuka stood there; some bandages sticking to the side of her face and a few bandages spiraling around her legs and her arms but otherwise, looking fine. Ryuu stood next to her, looking as though he was going to cry – his physical condition was the same as the woman behind him, but with an additional healing scratch on his cheek.

I glared at the mage, "Where?"

She shook her head in a refusal to answer that question. I persisted, desperate to know where my best friend was. Still, she shook her head as she placed the little boy on a cleared off beside table – no beds were available for the child to rest on.

"If I told you, you'd stumble outside and get nowhere near his location anyways," she bluntly predicted.

"I don't care, I want to see Natsu!"

This time she ignored me while she took off Ryuu's old bandages, throwing them straight into the trash afterwards. As they were revealed, there were some wounds that were still bleeding – fresh. He stayed still when Wendy disinfected his wounds and closed them up.

The medic frowned, "What happened? These weren't here before."

"They're looking for him now," the woman replied, taking off her own bandages and disinfecting the wounds in her flesh with a bottle of rubbing alcohol, before rewrapping the same dirty bandages around them. Wendy tsked her tongue at the way Shizuka was 'healing' herself.

"There are clean bandages you know, and I can heal that up for you."

"Use your energy on the villagers, they need it more."

I perked up – an answer popping up for another question I wanted to ask – wondering what happened to the people we supposedly protected. "What happened?"

Shizuka ignored me, leaving the room with the Ryuu, ruffling his hair and telling Wendy she'd come back to help later. Wendy sighed, going onto the next person – Elfman – once the both of them left.

"Don't be so hard on her – it's the same thing with Laxus, you know," she told me.

I repeated my question and she answered me with a gloomy look, giving me news I don't think I would have wanted to hear.

* * *

_The Past_

_The Guild_

_Kage stood there, staring maliciously at the guild members who had been unaware of his presence until the point of which he spoke. Time had flown by so quickly, they had forgotten that their conversation was supposed to be quick. _

_His finger was bleeding, dripping down into larger amounts of pools onto the floor. With his hand, he reached out to the side, controlling the blood to morph into a shape; the liquid squirming, looking as though it were trying to escape from him. _

_Ryuu formed in front of them, crying his eyes out. This had effect on them all; despite the fact they knew that this was only a clone. He looked so alike to the original that if they didn't know, they'd probably try and save this one. _

_From the real one, came a scream and everyone turned their head to look while Shizuka and Kage stared each other down. _

_"Don't you dare," she growled viciously, positioning herself in a stance to get ready to pounce._

_"I would definitely dare to," he retorted with a matching tone. She broke hell first, slamming against his body with her own, preparing a blast of wind perfectly suited for his punishment. _

_Natsu immediately headed into his son's direction, searching for the boy's voice or some sign that he was there. "Ryuu!" _

_Levy and Master went after him, spreading apart to widen their search around their large guild. Shizuka let down her barrier, which was still up, and went against Kage with Laxus' help. With the barrier erased, more enemies came in – as well as many more human-like blood clones. _

_Gajeel and Pantherlily went and stopped a set of the clones who had tried to go after the two, holding them back, with fierce and eager grins – happy to help in the fight. _

_Elfman and Lisanna took their forms, blocking the sludgy figures from attacking Charle and Wendy, the two of them moving the four who were unconscious behind the bar counter, to the medical rooms. The large man's arm transformed into its Beast Arm's Reptile Form, keeping Kage's blood from penetrating into him – scraping against scales but not into his blood. _

_Juvia pushed some of the people who came in, back out with a flush of her water magic. She led a group of guild members outside, hoping to make the search for Ryuu become even larger. When she did so, she couldn't believe her own eyes with what laid outside – screaming with horror. _

_The guild felt like doing the same as they saw Magnolia town being swallowed up by a strange, dark red liquid – they acted like flames as t__here was no ash and no smoke but it still burned.__ Regular humans were trying to escape from their own homes, protecting the valuables they got their hands on as they did so. Children were hugged tightly by their mothers or were screaming for them to come and save them from the fires. _

_Kage laughed, deep and cruel, at their unfortunate situations. "Your precious town will crumble because of your rash actions!"_

_Shizuka sent wind at his direction and tried to fan out the burning houses and buildings – only to have none of her efforts succeed in doing so. Laxus took off, leaving trust in his lover to take care of the guy who dared to hurt his family. _

_He split everyone up, trying to take control of the situation, sending a third of the mages not fighting to go and help find Ryuu with Natsu. Another third was sent to help the non-mages get out of their homes and to a safer place than the battlegrounds. The last third, including Juvia and Reedus, was to find a way to put out the burning blood. _

_Natsu had looked in all of the places that were noisy with Ryuu's screams. They seemed to have put some sort of speaker all around the guild, making him confused as to where his son truly was. The man cursed himself for leaving him all alone without anybody watching him. _

_"HELP ME!" a boy's voice screamed from somewhere behind him. He looked but no one was there. _

_"SAVE ME!" came from the side but he couldn't see him there either. _

_"_DADDY_!" came muffled but clear to Natsu's ears. _

_The last one was Ryuu, it had to be. The father ran forward, reaching for the door that led to the next room – the storage room._

_He ran right into the room once he got rid of the door standing in his way – almost missing the woman who stood hidden with the boy in her grip. Fortunately Natsu didn't, blowing flames that licked the woman's fingers, giving Ryuu enough time to run away from her – grabbing onto his father. _

_Ryuu crying and saying that he didn't mean it and Natsu telling the boy that everything was going to be okay, at their little reunion. Thinking that it was a perfect opening, the enemy sent near invisible strings to reach out and grab the child back. Natsu's hand lit up in flame, slicing the threads that held his son, burning them off. _

_"You," he said, thinking back to the time near Twilight Ogre's guild at the café. The woman smirked, taking off her hood to reveal her green hair and pink lines that streaked all over her face – scars that Shizuka had given her as a farewell gift. "What are you doing with Kage?"_

_"Because I'm here to pay back what I owe that bitch who did this to me," she replied before snarling, "I'LL DEAL WITH YOU TWO FIRST!"_

_She shot dozens of her magical strands at Natsu, who burned them as soon as they came close. Then as she aimed for Ryuu, the man snatched the thread out of frustration, before realizing his mistake. The Puppet Mage smiled and yanked hard at the thread that had caught him, before he could burn it off – suddenly suppressing the fire threatening to release._

_"Stay like that," she told him as he was trying to recover from being knocked into the crates of the storage room, turning to the frightened boy now. "This kid was the reason you came to Twilight Ogre's territory wasn't it?" – she sounded scornful as she recalled the first time they had met – "they exiled me because of that incident – I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FAIRIES!"_

_She dove at Ryuu to just get rid of him but her ankle was caught by Natsu, causing her to fall to her knees. Somehow he was able to burn through them – her magic – though last time the two had fought, his fire had been held back. _

_"You don't have to forgive us," he said, tearing off the strands coiled around him, "because _I_ sure will, never forgive _you_."_

_The woman was stunned, not knowing how he would be able to rip off her magic – especially since he should have been controlled! It was only for a split second that she let down her guard to gape but then, to refuse his arrogance she hissed, "Neither wi–"_

_Natsu had already started though, not giving a damn whether she was a girl or not, cutting her words short by placing a fiery fist into close range. She blocked it with her elbow, only to have the sleeves of her cloak be charred away; her teeth gritting as she bore with the pain from the burn before pushing him away. _

_As she did so, she saw his black eyes – demon-like, almost making her freeze with fear under his glare. Not in battle though, never would she freeze with fear _again_. _

_The man aimed again, swiping at her with an ignited hand but she dodged; her moves instantaneous after experiencing his fire. She created strands of her magic; sticking them to the man she was fighting. Since they had went too fast for him to notice, they landed where she wanted them to go – his arms and his fingers. _

_As she was now in control of Natsu's body, she started to play with her new puppet. But the man scorched them off before she could manage to make him move, not hesitating to go in for another attack. _

Why,_ she thought, _go through all this trouble for a boy?

_Their hair was different – despite both being colors that were bright and not very common – and at first glance, they had nothing in common. She then noticed Ryuu's eyes; as black as charcoal and as dark as the ones the man whom she was fighting with, glared at her with._

_"Im–" she began to say in disbelief – the thought of the two being father and son at the edge of impossibility to believe. She remembered the way the two had acted when they saw each other. _

_Natsu interrupted with a kick, landing directly at her cheek with an increased amount of power added to the singeing sting of the blazing fire. Instantaneously she shrieked as she felt the fire burning her cheek and extremely close to her eye. _

_He didn't pity her, sticking to his word about never forgiving her._

_Natsu left Ryuu concealed with their prisoner in the attic – that way they wouldn't be found easily, even if it was a very cliché way of hiding. They had bound and gagged her so she couldn't move when she woke up from unconsciousness – as a safe precaution. "Stay quiet alright? Watch her, 'cuz that's how we're going to find your mom."_

_The boy nodded, understanding that Mommy would be where the woman told them._

_Then his father left, heading out for another battle against the people who detained his mother._

_Magnolia was burning down with as the liquid – they confirmed as Juvia's Water Magic did nothing but making the situation worse – seemed to just melt everything in its path, with mages trying their best to put it out. Fairy Tail was seeking Twilight Ogre's help, knowing that they were forced to with their contract. Soon enough, Makarov and Banaboster's mage soldiers were all working to bring peace to Magnolia again._

_Levy, who had come back from hunting Ryuu, came up with nothing to break whatever spell – not knowing what to create to stop it. _

_"There is _nothing_ about this type of magic in any records!" she cried out every time the people asked. Everyone by now was getting desperate and having to protect the townsfolk while fighting Kage's clones – becoming tired was not helping any matters. _

_Laxus looked to Shizuka, hoping that she could come up with something – as she usually did. His orange eyes searched around, wondering where she had disappeared to while fighting._

_He saw her lying in the midst of the guild's rubble. _

_"Shizuka!" he yelled, hoping to catch her attention – still believing that she wasn't dead, just unconscious or struggling at the very least to move._

_But she made no reply. _

_Kage was laughing, kicking her limp body. The blonde man immediately ran to his fiancé, knocking away her attacker with a yell and a blast of lightning. His opponent frowned and morphed a weapon from his blood, giving Laxus a signal to bring it on._

_Natsu reached and grabbed fistfuls of the weird fire, trying to see if he could eat the flames – only to choke on the taste. Just like blood – probably what it was made of anyways with Kage's style. _

_This was what they had been planning outside while the guild had discussed Lucy's situation and what their enemies were like. Kage probably had waited until the village had started to go down to come in and take Ryuu – the start of the ambush. _

_He swallowed the mouthful, hoping that his stomach would hold it down, and took another in. Before long, he felt sick but the bloody flames' amount had reduced – hardly though. He wouldn't be able to keep it up for all of Magnolia though; he'd throw it all up before he could anyways. _

_Ignoring what his stomach told him, he ran to the rest of what remained of the guild and its members. _

_Laxus groaned, struggling to get up on his elbows and trying his best to breathe – only to manage shorts gasps and fall flat on his chest again. His sides hurt, bleeding from the damage Kage had caused on his body. _

_Shizuka was still unconscious behind him, her face peaceful but scratched all over, making a bloody mess of a beautiful face. Luckily, he had managed to protect her in the attacks that the enemy had tried aiming at her. _

_Now that he was out of breath, he didn't know how he'd keep it up. _

_Almost everybody outside was the same but they were all still fighting to their limit – while Laxus was near his. He felt weak, unable to be alongside them as he was already down. _

_"Is this all there is to you?" Kage spat, "I cannot believe this! If all of your S-Class Mages are like this, this guild is obviously pa–"_

_"You wouldn't kno–" Laxus said before going into a coughing fit, feeling as though his lungs were drowning. Blood trickled out of his mouth but he still tried to finish his words. "–know a thing about Fairy Tail. Not with the reports you might have received from that guy who _bought _you–"_

_Kage rose the blood that was drowning the man on the ground, angered by his words. "I am owned by no one! No one owns me! I am the one who rules Claude! He is merely the golden goose I keep, the one who gives me all the money I need to do everything thing I want! If he _ever_ betrays _me_ I can always kill and cook him!"_

_In his state, Fairy Law was not going to work – even though he had mastered it for the guild already. The Raging Bolt was something that he wasn't even going to try, not with his mouth unable to move after that speech took up his breath. _

_Laxus couldn't hear anymore – though he could tell Kage was still talking his tongue away – just trying to stall time so Natsu would get there already._

_Natsu_

_I had looked around the guild, seeing nobody awake there – all of them lying around, knocked out or worse. Some screamed with pain, just screaming for somebody to save them or their family or their friends. It was horrible around Magnolia, the fiery blood was still burning buildings to the ground and it was hard to keep running to find the person who caused all of this._

_Kage was at Twilight Ogre's guild when I found him, laughing his head off, kicking my comrades around like that wasn't anything to do in front of me. I had charged at him, once I saw him kick Lisanna without any care, engulfing myself in flames that were helping me in ramming him over at full speed. _

_I was glad that his grin was wiped clean off of his face as he landed on his back with me on top of him, already delivering a direct blow to his cheek. _

_Now he was enraged – the same as I was – and I could feel something pulling me off right when I prepared another shot which missed, just a centimeter from his nose. I didn't turn my head to look, just ignited myself again to get rid of whatever was dragging me away. _

_Once I felt a release from the back of my shirt, I dashed at Kage again, dodging the clones that formed to try and get in my way. He was smiling when I attacked him, punching him across his face. When my knuckles met his cheek, he melted into sludge – a clone he'd made while I was stalled, dodging the sludge I had been attacked by before. _

_"COWARD!" I called, taunting him to come out and face me. He chuckled, his voice echoing through the place, coming from above me. _

_I looked up, only to be pummeled down by something wet and suffocating. I heated up; causing the liquid to harden thinly, but the split second was enough for me to avoid it. He had disappeared from the banister but I realized where he was when I was knocked to the right, crashing into the bottles and barrels at the guild's bar – I felt a few cuts from the glass that rained onto me._

_The man stared at me sideways, an amused look in his eyes and his mouth curling up to make a smile. His laugh boomed throughout the room, loud and humiliating to the one he was laughing at – me. _

_His index finger pointed at me and motioned upwards._

_I felt something go up my throat and come through my mouth, making me cough involuntarily. The thing I was coughing though wasn't phlegm or air. _

_It was blood, splattering onto Igneel's muffler._

_Kage laughed hysterically as he told me, "I can control you as long as my blood is within your body, boy. Just remember that – as long as my blood is within your body! Don't forget it!"_

_I remembered that I had eaten the liquid I had thought was fire – the way that it tasted. The thought of me eating blood was gross but now wasn't a time to think about that – now was the time to get back at him._

_Before I could move though, he closed his hand to ball up into a fist, clenching air tightly as he literally crushed something – an organ or something – in my body. More blood spewed from my mouth, coming along with an unfamiliar scream – he'd burst something without giving me warning, a merciless bastard wasn't he._

_I could see and feel the pain of the cuts that were being made inside of my skin, reaching the surface and splitting up, through my flesh. These cuts were all over my face, arms, chest, and stomach soon enough. Only my upper body seemed to be affected by the blood for the moment. _

_"I can make my blood into _anything_ I want it to become or _act _like anything I want it to be like! It can be a blade or act like a fire!" he stated, showing me by creating a sword and dropping a few drops of blood on the floor, spreading a small charring ring. He grinned when he told me, "It'll also be like a poison!"_

_As soon as he said that, I felt like there was a fire inside of me – it burned and it hurt, worse than the time I used to think fire hurt. Of course it was poison – scorching my insides and probably causing them to rot after being destroyed._

_He smiled as I kept screaming, his eyes closed and that sickening grin growing wider. Using his whole hand, he twirled it in a circular motion; leading me to feel something from my stomach spreading to the rest of my body. _

_This was how Gray, Happy, Erza, and Mira felt when they were being controlled; I could tell that they felt betrayed – betrayed by their own self. On thought, it should have responded immediately. Under Kage's control, I couldn't move – especially not with his blood running through me. _

_It scared me, to try and move my body but being unable to. _

_It made me feel weak; mentally and physically – my sight becoming blurry and my thoughts becoming nervous._

_It made me feel angry, the way the Kage dared to control another against their wills. I hated feeling this way but he was leaving me no choice. _

_My anger raged inside of me before coming out of my skin, enveloping me completely. Kage widened his eyes, suddenly looking as though he was scared – scared of what, my magic? I realized that I was burning with my own flames._

_Why was I still able to control my magic, especially when I was being manipulated by him? _

_I raised the temperature of the fires and it went up like I commanded it to; the alcohol that had been spilled when I had crashed into the bar going up in the blaze I was creating._

_Kage seemed to be struggling, fighting for the control over me _with_ me. My brain hurt a little as I struggled to get take my body back from the guy who had stole it from me. When my fingers started to twitch, he growled – looking tired as he panted from the little mental struggle. _

_I grinned wide before shifting it into a thin smile, feeling some pain from doing it too quickly. _

_The man standing there growled before biting into his black gloves with his canine teeth, letting them drip to form people. I rammed into him though, knocking him over to make him lose focus on morphing more clones of different shapes – it hurt to do so. _

_He yelled when he felt my fire burn through his clothes and onto his skin – letting him have the taste of real fire. I kept his hands down with my feet, stomping onto them. _

_"How do you stop the stuff burning my town?" I asked, not even having to try to be dangerous. He scoffed at me and my hand _accidently_ slipped, giving him another set of burns._

_His hands clenched together to soothe the pain when he said, "I don't know."_

_"You're the one who created it," I said._

_"I don't know."_

_"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" I yelled, losing my patience completely as I landed ignited flames onto his face, singeing his hair along with each hit. I waited for him to tell me, slapping him around – I couldn't help it; I was too annoyed and angry with this man._

_He was laughing at me, despite being the one beaten with a bloodied face. "Fire is always fought with fire isn't it? I'm surprised that you ha–"_

_I gave him the final blow, rendering him unconscious like he had done with my comrades, hoping to make him shut up already. Instead of Kage though, there was just the liquid and the metallic smell of blood. _

_"A clo–" I started to say with disbelief, wondering how spineless this guy could get. I heard him chuckle, something that was almost breathless though and lasted only a few seconds. _

_He was at the high window's ledge, holding my muffler in his hands, blood-stained and dirtied with various things. "I'll be taking this."_

_I growled, "No you won't."_

_Kage shook my head, almost like he was trying to convince me to give up. "Claude will need this as a gift for his beloved _Lucy_."_

_I froze at her name and I could tell that he noticed; a smirk on his face already on his face. He dangled my scarf down at me, trying to get me to grab at it. I didn't make a move, just stared him down – I would have yanked it down but I was in no condition to do so now. _

_"Don't you wonder how much she'll cry after seeing this?" he asked me._

_At this I didn't care about my body anymore, I felt like ripping him in half – only to have that feeling come onto me. A yell escaped my lips. _

_He laughed with his twisted amusement. _

_"I wouldn't move another step, you just might _die_," he rhetorically advised me, "then again," – he smiled at this thought – "you will soon enough."_

* * *

The Present

Shizuka

Ryuu latched his arms around my neck as I held him in my arms, riding the winds to where Natsu and Laxus were healing up. The two of them were hidden at the far edge of the East Forest – Porlyusica or Wendy went by after healing their large portions of people; ranging from villagers to mages.

Luckily, nobody had _died_ but people were wounded deeply – both mentally and physically with all the things they saw.

The little boy tugged on my sleeves, making me realize that I had went too far, going past what looked like a rundown cottage but was what made up Natsu and Happy's home. Before, from what people told me, they had always stayed with Lucy-sama and hardly lived in their actual home.

But because Lucy-sama left Fairy Tail, he eventually stopped waiting for her in the empty, abandoned apartment.

I gently landed on the ground, knowing the tail of my coat would be rising up – but no one else was there so there was nothing to worry about. The two would be inside, their bodies healing from the injuries they had sustained from their fights. I knew that Laxus had fought Kage for me, though he would most likely never admit it to anyone.

A collapsed lung, a few broken bones, and various scratches of different sizes were what he ended up with – those wounded were alike.

Ryuu detached himself once I had opened the door, running immediately to his father's side while I locked us inside. I was the one watching over them as they slept, keeping an eye out for Kage and his men.

I knew that they would come back for Natsu – it was my brother's favorite thing to do; hunting.

It was easier to detect enemies with fewer people coming by and there were communications lacrima between me, Makarov, Wendy, and Porlyusica to confirm meets. If anybody knocked, I would immediately get rid of them – no traveler went to this part of the forest anyways.

I sat next to Laxus, dutifully hoping that he would wake up.

* * *

Ryuu

I knew that Daddy was sleeping – Shizzy-sama said that I shouldn't bother him but I could sit next to him and wait for him to wake up. I was allowed to play with Daddy only when he woke up. She said that he wouldn't wake up for a while though.

I climbed onto the bed like I had been doing for the past few days; off the chair I had used to get up on, watching my Daddy.

He had slept for days already – I wonder if I could sleep for that long! Sometimes when I poked his face, he felt very hot like he had a feevur; something that made you sick!

I poked him again but this time he felt cold - very, very cold.

* * *

Wendy

I had been shocked to hear the call from Shizuka, through the lacrima she had given me, thinking that it had been a mistake at first. But then, knowing the woman, she wouldn't _ever_ make a mistake like this.

"Everybody stay here!" I ordered as I left, going after the person whose life might be coming close to an end.

* * *

Claude

I loved to hear her scream – I hadn't for a while.

Just screaming through the night – I slept happily while everyone else was awake.

If I had known that it was this easy, then I would have requested that piece of cloth from that man so long ago.

It's a shame that Kage couldn't get the man in full but at the very least, we had Natsu Dragneel motivated to go after us.

I looked back at him with a satisfied grin, "What's that Puppeteer's name again?"

"Verissa P–"

"Verissa is enough," I told him, not interested in her full name. All she was going to do was just tell them where we were and they would possibly bring their entire guild along with them – bringing the two people I wanted. Why else would I tell Kage to abandon them all?

Besides this, however, she was nothing of real purpose.

I don't like useless things.

* * *

Verissa

The bastard cut me loose from my deal, and left me and his men here. They were all quiet – acting like puppies who lost their mother. I had joined Kage for money and some fame for working under Claude Yufukuna's name – Twilight Ogre would regret excommunicating me.

"You're all pathetic," I spat, feeling disgraced in their presence. "So what if Kage left us – we'll overcome him."

None of them looked at me with pride or hope but one of them spoke up, "That's impossible."

"The only time we are abandoned is when it is deemed we are not necessary," another told me. "Unless we are necessary, what purpose do we have?"

"Our purpose is for our own selves, not for a betrayer like him," I answered back, earning some contact with his brown eyes. "I use others for their power; never the other way around."

"You've already been used," he said, "and you've already been thrown away – like the rest of us."

I grew aggravated by him – his logic was all based on being used or not. When was I ever used by Kage and Cla–

"You went and distracted the target and his child, like you were supposed to," he confirmed, "and you were not saved by anyone – according to plan."

I realized, that was exactly what happened – how did he know that? Was it because I was here, along with him and these guys?

Fear overcame me.

Would Kage get rid of me that easily? Was I really that useless? Was I–

_Snap out of it,_ I told myself, _this was exactly what he wanted you to feel._

To feel unimportant and not useable after the first use – just a disposable tool.

Fairy Tail – what would they do? They were already holding us here in the basement, all of us tied to different chairs at different tables – nobody watching or listening to us for supervision.

If they weren't watching us what did they want with us?

Were they going to throw us away as well?

* * *

Natsu

She was twirling around with her arms out, her hands spread, feeling the wind. She was wearing her usual clothes, the blue skirt and the white and blue shirt. Her keys were jangling as she danced on the hill overlooking Magnolia's town.

"Isn't this place great?" she asked, not looking as though she were even looking for an answer – just to fit the scenery. Yeah, it was great – no it was…beautiful, but only if you were there.

Oh…it's back to _that_ day – the scenery suddenly gave me that memory.

_No, it's today! You're going to tell her today!_

No, I wasn't – I wasn't going to tell her if she was going to leave me afterwards.

_"Yeah," _someone said, sounding eerily familiar. _"It's great Luce."_

I turned around and saw…myself, walking up the green slope with a gigantic grin. I stepped to the side as he walked right past me, like he didn't notice me – but I could have sworn that he looked right at me though.

_That _me stood beside Lucy, looking at nothing but her while she stared at the town from the heightened view. When she caught him staring, she flushed red – the same way that she had done with me.

_Idiot – that _is_ you._

"Come on," she told him – me – "let's go explore some more."

I laughed a little, remembering my excuse to lure her away from the guild.

He nodded and followed her deeper into the mountainside, leaving the grassy meadows we were standing in. I knew that we were going to the top of the mountain now and it'd take us nearly all day. We would arrive at night; just when the stars started to come out and I knew that Lucy would wish she could stay there forever – lazing about as she watched the glittering dots in the sky.

I sat next to her right while he sat to her left. Dawn was about to come soon, the first ray of sun for the next day was already shining.

I knew what came next.

My mirror image opened his mouth to tell her, _"Lucy, I…I love you."_

Lucy looked at him, shocked but with a growing smile on her face. She looked as though she remembered something though, and then she stopped glowing with happiness and started to darken with her thoughts.

I didn't look at her, knowing that I would feel the agonizing pain of not knowing what she would tell me in return – the pain that I already suffered years ago – so I kept my eyes shut. After all, I remember what she said as clear as day–

"I…" she started to reply – I knew that she was shaking her head, looking as though she were trying to decide on what to tell him. Then she'd look like she was going to say _I don't_.

The man – me – would look at her sadly, thinking the pessimistic thoughts of the situation. He was going to say nothing at all, just look at the horizon in which the sun was rising on. He wasn't going to cry, just take in the rejection.

I hated the fact Lucy didn't say anything either, just kiss his cheek as if to soften the blow of what would seem like a thousand daggers piercing through his heart.

_My_ heart.

She'd leave and he wouldn't watch her go.

I didn't open my eyes for a while – clearing my head of the memories of that day. I knew that the two of us avoided each other after that incident, for weeks – avoiding anything that had to do with love and its stupid heartbreaks.

Then she left Fairy Tail, making me feel even worse.

"Hey," somebody called to me. I looked up, seeing the me from five years ago – frankly, a bit shorter than I would have liked.

The mountain that we had been standing on had disappeared; everything was gone actually – the ground, the town, the sun.

I was in a blank world.

"You shouldn't be here," he continued, making me focus on only him and his words by swiveling my head to face him – I had been staring at a certain spot that was growing black.

"Who are you?" I asked, ignoring what he said. He raised his eyebrows and stared at me like I was a crazy person.

"Who do I look like genius?" he answered, gesturing at himself. "I'm _you_!"

"That's im–"

"Only if you're _dead_ idiot!" he told me. His words struck me.

Dead? I was…dead? I put my right hand over my heart, searching for a beat.

No pulse came.

I scoffed thinking that this was all a dream – I mean seriously, I couldn't _die _yet. I hadn't saved Lucy from…

Lucy was just there wasn't she? Lucy…if I thought about her, she'd come right – this was, after all, just a dream. Everything came true in your dreams.

"Lucy was there!" I told him, "I can see Lucy _here_!"

"That isn't Lucy – that's what you _remember_ of her."

"No – that was _Lucy_," I said, "I _know_ that's Lucy."

He shook me, trying to make me get the gist of it already, trying to avoid the darker parts of the place which seemed to creep up to us. "WRONG! That wasn't Lucy! You're _dead _right now! Come on Natsu! Wake up! The only way to see the _real_ Lucy is to–"

"WAKE UP DAMN IT!" I heard, my ears hurting at the four words – strangely sounding like…Gray.

The other me vanished as the blank, darkening world started to fill up with people – the whole lot of Fairy Tail.

Gray almost looked like he was going to cry – _almost – _and he had already turned away,but the one already sobbing was Happy, on my chest and soaking my shirt. Erza, Mira, Lisanna, and Shizuka were with Ryuu, saying things like everything was going to be okay – he was trying his best to hold back his tears but they had already erupted.

I lifted my head to see Master beside Porlyusica with his head down while she looked up, not looking at everyone and their silly, crying faces. I think Elfman was saying something about being a man by showing feelings – Jet and Droy agreeing by hiccupping, the aftereffects of crying.

"What are you guys crying about?" I asked. They all seemed to freeze as their heads turned to look at me, Happy giving me the first look of a crying cat – I have to say that it was cute but it wasn't exactly _pretty_.

Levy was beside Gajeel when the two of them defended themselves, "Idiot! We weren't crying!"

Ryuu called me _Daddy_, looking like a girl when he broke through the crowd that surrounded him, jumping onto my bed and hugging me tightly. I flushed red while everyone stared at us with that_ Oh, isn't that cute_ look.

I eyed around, noticing everyone's injuries and Laxus still healing on his bed, asleep. I knew that I was looking for _her, _hoping to see her face among those in my house.

But the one person I wanted to see the most wasn't there.

* * *

Umm…I just looked up something and stuff – should I put Lucy's last name as Heartfilia or Heartphilia? 'Cuz I looked at the Wikia stuff (research kinda helps :D) and it says Heartphilia not Heartfilia…I'm going with Heartfilia though (for now) but if there's any objections (obsessive fanatics :P JKJKJKJKJK) then just say the word :D Oh and see if you can name the moves that are described from Natsu's fighting…kinda used Wikia for that too…

Thanks For Reading :D Don't hate me D: I don't own Fairy Tail (forgot to put this in the others too…hmm oh well…) Disclaimed: Fairy Tail people, places, and name…any thing else?


	10. The Past Is The Past

Jeez…hi! :D I'm sorry that it took forever for me to update this chapter – it's just that I had to school…still going to it ^.^ anyways, it'll be awhile again before I update – give me…a week or two before checking okay guys? Thank you! Here you go!

Chapter Ten

_The Past_

_Lucy_

_The church's bells were ringing, reminding me that I was awake and that my life was not going to be mine anymore. _

_I was sitting in front of the three-way glass mirror, thinking about how I got into this mess. My father had never mean to sell me away in the first place – he hadn't even sold me actually, it was just because Mavis sent us back late. Just a few months would have been enough for me to inherit my father's will and then I would have stayed with Fairy Tail and I wouldn't have met Claude. _

_But we didn't. _

_I tried to not dwell too much on these thoughts; I didn't want to blame anyone – especially not against Mavis Vermillion! I sighed, trying to focus back onto the present moment. _

_From head to toe, I was dressed in pure white, befitting for the bride I was. The dress was long, the train dragging behind me whenever I walked. My veil was swept back so I could see better than fuzz for now – covering my plaited hair._

_A knock at the door came and though I didn't answer, I knew that Regina would come in anyway. She was holding the assorted flowers, arranged neatly to create a beautiful bouquet. _

_She held it out with smile, for me – I took it, feeling its size through its weight as she folded my veil back to the front. _

_Now was the time I was going to walk down an aisle, alone, to speak vows with a man I wasn't in love with._

_I could hear him mumbling in his sleep – even though I had slept alongside him many times before. I was sitting up in bed that the two of us were in, bringing up a part of the blankets to cover my bare body. _

_The sky outside was a mix of a golden yellow and a hue of rosey red, the same color of my blushing face as I recalled what we had been doing. _

_"Luucee," Natsu purred, dragging out my name as he snuggled closer to me – I thought he had woke up but when he rolled over to face the other side, I knew that he was still dreaming. _

_The fact he was thinking about me made me happy – the fact that he loved me was enough actually._

_I ran my fingers through his hair for a minute or two, my mind on the funny, adventurous times I had spent with him – the days when I loved him. _

_No, I _still _loved him. _

_We would have had a great life together, wouldn't we? _

_I was shocked, remembering that I was already…married to Claude and that I would always belong to him as long as he lived – it wouldn't matter where I ran to. He'd be furious wouldn't he; a man whose wife committed adultery was something too scandalous in his profession, whatever it was._

_A woman shouldn't have to marry the one she didn't love, should she – even if they already were married! I didn't know a thing about Claude – what kind of work he did or where he really lived or what he wanted of me! _

_I knew various, and sometimes weird, facts about Natsu on the other hand. _

_Claude…he wasn't back home today was he? Not back to his second mansion anyways – certainly not to the place I had decided to live in without telling him. _

_My fingers left Natsu's head as I snatched my clothes off of the floor, pulling them on quickly._

_Nobody would know – my Celestial Spirits didn't know anything about this house, because I had hoped to surprise them with it when it was Christmas. They wouldn't be looking for me, would they?_

_I was only thinking about getting away from Natsu – hoping nobody would notice me near him. I could act as though it was coincidence that he was in the same town if the both of us were caught, couldn't I? _

_Hurriedly, I pulled on my jacket and reached for the door that led downstairs, sprinting down the steps with as little noise as possible. I left the presents that I had bought for them – I could buy them all over again later._

_I knew that the presents weren't all that I was leaving behind. _

_"Ryuu," I told the boy as I looked around with caution, "you've got to go, okay? Don't look back at me and don't worry about me – just keep running."_

_My child was crying his eyes out as I slid on his small boots and wrapped a scarf around his neck. "But why can't you" – he hiccupped with tears streaming down his reddening cheeks – "come with me?"_

_I tried to hush him, wrapping him in my arms and softly cradling him in the short time we had before Claude would come. "It's going to be alright as long as you keep running – Mommy will come and find you soon."_

_"No!" he yelled, making me tell him to quiet down again – he was acting just like the thunder rumbling outside. "I want to go with Mommy!"_

_"Ryuu, Mommy will be behind y–"_

_Somebody – Claude – was pounding on the door, telling me to open up and signaling that he was already here. Now that we didn't have any time at all, I daringly opened the door to face him, edging my son inside._

_"What?" I asked, noticing that behind my husband was just one mage, high-leveled and soaked due to the pouring rain. _

_He smiled at me before answering, asking me if he could come inside. I told him, "If you have business tell it out here first – you woke up Ryuu."_

_Claude looked up at the sky despite the fact the rain that splashed against his face, "That was probably the thunder – not my knocking – and besides, I'm your husband. There's no need to be so formal with me."_

_"He isn't afraid of thunder," I informed him – ignoring his martial comment, crossing my arms. "You should have called." _

_He repeated, "_I'm _your _husband_."_

_I cringed inside, not because of the rumbling thunder and the flashes of lightning but because of that standing fact. I straightened myself back out though, trying to stall the time – Ryuu should have already left by now, as I was distracting them. "I'm outside as well; we're fair and square at the moment."_

_"I just want to see the boy – he looks _so_ alike to _you_, doesn't he?" he asked me, hinting what he already knew. "Is he still asleep?"_

_I was about to reply but he cut me off, continuing, "Or is he trying to run away from home?"_

_I widened my eyes before hearing Ryuu yelling which had been temporarily blocked out by the thunder. My head turned to look for him – being held up by a man with red eyes and a sickening, amused grin at my boy's predicament. _

_I looked back to Claude, growling at his threatening action. My head was struck against the frame of the door, struck by his hand. I put my hand on my cheek, knowing that it was going to swell. _

_He walked past me, kicking away my hand when I tried to stop him by reaching out – he stepped away from my grasp. Harshly, he squeezed Ryuu's cheeks, holding his face still to look at what was similar to mine. When he was done observing, he flung him out of the other man's clutches, causing him to crash into the wall. _

_"RYUU!" I screamed, getting up to see if he was okay. Claude caught me by my neck though, slamming me against the other wall. I tried to get his grip off of me – scratching at him – but he held me firmly. _

_He was shaking with fury, staring at me with intense eyes that made me want to hide – I couldn't though, not without Ryuu. "How _could_ you do this to me Lucy? After all that I did for _you_!"_

_I struggled to talk back, "What you" – I gasped for air – "did for _me_? You should have" – another breath – "let me go and have my own free–"_

_"Freedom?" he asked me, almost as though it were a foreign word. He laughed, "There is no such thing for _you_. I can't believe I _loved _you!"_

_"You don't know what love even is," I said in a rush, knowing that I was fading away with so little air. Then Claude dropped me, making me choke with the air rushing through my windpipe and into my lungs. I faintly noticed that he was walking to Ryuu. _

_"I know what it is," he told me, "because I felt it once. I truly did love you – but then you show that you don't with this" – Ryuu coughed, showing that he was waking up – "bastard's child!"_

_"Mommy!" the boy yelled with concern before turning to Claude with a glare. "What did you do with Mom–"_

_My husband lifted him up like he weighed nothing, dangling him by the back of his coat. "I hit your Mommy but only because I, your Daddy didn't like what Mommy had done."_

_"You aren't my Daddy!" he shrieked, smacking the man's cheek. "Mommy said that she never loved _you_ and that she never will! That means I won't either!" _

_Claude chuckled before looking at me with cold eyes – I gave him the same look, strengthened by Ryuu's words. He turned back to the child, "Your Mommy isn't a good person, don't you know that?"_

_"I don't care! Mommy is my mommy!" _

_I smiled a little, but it was wiped away when Claude swung his fist at my son's fragile skull. He was knocked away, sliding onto the wooden table, unmoving. _

_I screamed his name, hoping that he wasn't dead. He didn't make a move; I stumbled over to him – partly dizzy and wondering why he wasn't moving. Someone jangled keys – my keys? _

_I turned around, seeing Claude taking them off of their ring's hook. Why didn't I take them when I opened the door – I could have fought them off that way!_

_I was so damn _weak _and _stupid_._

_I gave myself up, the sight of my baby unmoving still on my mind. I was trying hard to not cry but I couldn't make any difference between the rain and tears. _

_The man with the blood-colored eyes was pulling me along by my hair, forcing me to go forward. I wish that Claude would just get rid of me now, so then I wouldn't feel this way. _

_Why? Why did he kill him? _

_My hand moved on its own, slapping Claude – stunning him for a moment, enough for me to reach for my Spirit Keys in his hands. I recognized the key I wanted by touch, immediately – as the two of us argued so much. I held it up to the sky, almost like an offering to the rain._

_"OPEN THE GATE OF THE WATER BEARER, AQUARIUS!" I shrieked automatically, as soon as it was in the air. She appeared, not speaking but already pouring her urn with a dark expression – no doubt, the thirteen were furious beyond control. _

_Aquarius expressed it for me, washing them away, thoroughly. _

_As they were caught by the mermaid's tsunami waves I knew, from experience, that they were pulled by the tides – drifting to wherever the currents of rain pulled them. _

_From the years of free time I had, I trained through their guidance – creating my own methods as well. Though I hardly would have any real people to face as enemies, a forest, with its various-sized trees, ended up in need of more plants. _

_I had done the replanting with Ryuu – he had thought that the seedlings were vegetables ready for picking; pulling them right up right after I had planted them carefully. _

_I clenched my fists over the next key I was planning to use, at the thought of him being gone – taken away so easily. _

_At a certain spot, I saw I blotch of red – growing larger and larger; it was using the water Aquarius had released. The water – at least that _was_ what it was – surrounded my feet. It was thick and stuck to me, staining my shoeless feet and darkened the hem of my navy blue dress. The smell was metallic and heavy but mixed along with this putrid, rotting smell – like it was old._

_I realized I was standing in blood – the instinctive scream escaped my lips._

_"It's a bit funny to see you this way," someone said. I looked behind me to see a figure – that man who had been with Claude – rising out of the blood. I tried to step to face him but my legs wouldn't move. _

_"Does it hurt?" he asked, lifting a finger at me and making his hands look as though he were trying to high-five me. I felt something moving upwards in my body – I didn't like the feeling at all so I tried to stop it._

_My arm raised to the sky with the key held up in my hand, I whispered with what breath I could, "Open the Gate of the Lion, Loke."_

_That was enough for the summoning – just as long as I called out for him. With a shimmering glow, the said Celestial Spirit came out of his Gate, yelling his defending roar when he attacked the man to my backside as I tried figuring for a way to get out of my frozen state. _

_I didn't know any magic such as this – how could any Mage, any _human_ be able to control such a thing? I saved those details for the miracles of Earth Land – however, this wasn't much of any miracle helping to my advantage. _

_I was still in the same position – with my right hand holding Loke's key in the air – when I saw the lion knocked away before being engulfed in the blood-filled mass of water. He tried to escape from it but because all that surrounded him was the liquid. _

_I tried to move again, thinking that whatever the man had done was worn off by now, but I was as still as stone. My hand couldn't reach out to him and my mouth couldn't scream for him._

I asked if it hurt,_ the man's voice told me within my head, _but I know that it doeswithout you sa–

_"Stop it Kage," Claude ordered and immediately the man was suppressed. He was walking towards me, and twisting my head to look at him – to look at the eyes that disgusted me the most. "Only _I_ can play with my toys."_

_As he said that, I felt as though my body was able to move on its own again and I saw the blood being soaked up by Kage – almost like he was a sponge. Loke was on the ground, trying his best to move toward me._

_I was about to force his Gate to close – so he would heal – but suddenly Claude held me still. He held his hands at my throat again, lifting me a few inches into the air as he snatched away my Spirit Keys._

_My, he had fetish for holding people by their necks._

_"You're quite reckless," he commented but I couldn't retort with his hand clamped around my windpipe, threatening to snap through it._

_"Mommy!"_

_At the voice, we all looked – surprised to see Ryuu standing with a look of despair, in front of the small cottage. His clothes were a bit torn but otherwise, I could swear that he was _alive_. _

_He shouted, "Mommy" again before heading towards me. I widened my eyes and shook my head before screaming with newfound strength. _

_"RUN RYUU, RUN! JUST KEEP RUNNING" – Claude tightened his grip around my neck to keep me from talking but I still managed to finish – "Mommy wants you to run!"_

_He looked at me before remembering that the other two men were bad guys, being hesitant to do what I asked. I pleaded with my eyes now, hoping he would go already._

_The little boy turned away, stumbling along to run. _

_I couldn't just hope anymore – I had to do something to make the tables turn to our side. My dangling hands moved on their own, trying to strangle my husband's neck like he was doing to me. I kicked and scratched until he finally let go. _

_As I fell, I grabbed my keys at his belt, tossing them to the now stable Loke. He caught them, wondering what I wanted. _

_"Stay with Ryuu, alright? This is an _order_ – if you dare disobey and stay here, I'll never let you go back to the Spirit World!" I yelled, knowing the consequences that would happen if I ever did that. I could tell that he would doubt it but that would have to come later – I was never harsh with them anyways. "Tell that to the others too, I don't care if they don't believe _you_ but they had better be–"_

_My long hair was tugged back, grabbed by Kage's blood Morphing Magic – I yelped at the pain but I knew from the way that the Celestial Spirit ran off, he understood my intentions. A trail of red streamed after them, almost catching Loke by his ankles._

_Luckily, he dashed off to try to catch up to Ryuu – but eventually Claude would catch up._

_To stall time, I tried snatching behind me, pulling my hair back from Kage's grip; he fell forward, over me – his attention snapping back to me. I kicked upwards with my foot, striking his chin to go in the same direction. _

_As he bent backwards, his body melting into a puddle that started to make its way towards me – snaking after me the same way it had done with Loke. Knowing that it could make me lose will of my body, I shuffled back with my eyes on the liquid that was following the two escapees. _

_Loke was running but Ryuu had fallen over – so the Spirit stopped and turned back to try to stall the liquid coming straight at them. My mind as a mother didn't match the maternal instinct to stop it altogether – I had dashed right off to the two, feeling something sharp piercing through my flesh as I stood between the liquid and my protector._

_I was looking at Loke, my mouth screaming for them to go already, causing their feet to start scrambling away. My breathing was labored – did this sharp thing puncture my lungs?_

_The thing suddenly removed itself from me and I could feel a stream trickle down my back. I looked back, seeing it recoil for another strike, making me to roll away – dirt mixing into my wound. I dodged it again, noticing that there were holes in the ground, drilled by Kage's blood. _

_I stopped when I bumped into somebody, my eyes not needing to turn back – the recollection that there had been _two_ people, was enough to signal that Claude was behind me. It was confirmed when a hand went over my mouth, forcing something – a cloth – over my mouth and nose. When I breathed in, my head felt dizzy and tired._

_What kind of drug was this – if it was one anyway – slurring my eyesight. I couldn't really walk well but I knew that I was walking; the tree I had aimed at leaning on was right next to me now. My head didn't stop spinning, even with the support to keep me upright. _

_Claude – where was Claude and Kage? After a few moments where I fought my eyelids, trying to keep them open to see where they were._

_"Here," one of them called – I couldn't notice any difference. "We're right here, Lucy."_

_Though I knew that this was probably a trick, but who cared – I needed to get them away from Ryuu – Loke would be fine as long as Kage didn't start to focusing on them again. _

_I reached out to the next tree, deeper into the forested area – away from civilization where I had once thought was a better place to hide. Without anyone around, however, it seemed even worse – but knowing Claude, he would have still massacred an entire country until he found me out._

_My hand slipped down the bark but I tried to hold steady – only to have failure in the end, crawling on the ground now._

_"You don't need to run anymore," they told me, "it's alright – we only want you."_

_Only me? _

No, they're lying,_ I thought to myself – almost _not_ believing my conscience._

_"We're not lying Lucy."_

_You're not? My head turned, trying to keep my eyes on them focused and still – they were everywhere. My eyelids were…heavy – too heavy. Falling? No, that's just my arms crum…bling to the…ground. I felt someone's touch, stroking through my hair before taking a fistful of it. _

_My eyes shut before I could feel any pain._

The Present

The muffler was somewhere in the room but I tried my best to not look at it – it wasn't the truth, was it? It was impossible – Natsu…he was fine! He had to be…had to be alright.

In my mind, I still felt like he wasn't – what if he really was dead?

_It's just blood_.

That was true, it really was _just_ blood.

But it was _his_ blood.

I knew how much the muffler meant to him since he always wore it as proof and pride for having been raised by Igneel. He wouldn't ever lose it; not over his dead bod–

I cringed, feeling the pain sting from the thought.

How could I think of it so easily? Natsu always fought through the obstacles that blocked his path to victory, even if he shouldn't have. All of those times, he had came out bloodied and injured but he always won.

Was that it – the reason I could think that he was _dead_? His luck should have run out by now? Nobody would survive these many times through brutal battles and frivolous wars and live very long would they?

_Stop it, _I heard a voice in my head say – it was my own, not Kage's – trying to get me to focus.

_If he went and fought for you then he did because he lov– _

That was the thing though. He did it because he _loved_ me.

Then he shouldn't have loved me – if he was going to end up dead because of feeling then he shouldn't have bothered.

And I shouldn't have loved him back.

He would have been safe.

I curled myself up, erasing the past from my mind for now – I'd face it in the future.

* * *

Kage

I sat in front of Claude, recalling the words from that blonde man – Fairy Tail's master's grandson, Laxus Dreyar.

Saying those ridiculous things about how I was _bought_ by the man in front of me. How did he know about this – who told him?

I told these thoughts to Claude – telling him only the part about Shizuka-sama's part in Fairy Tail and the question about how they knew so much. Had his half-sister already confessed her life tale to them?

He turned to me, with that dubious expression. "That woman has no reason to betray me."

I narrowed my eyes before asking, "Do you not trust me?"

He reacted as I thought he would, laughing as though my question was the most hilarious thing in the world. Then just in an instant he shook his head, his face grim and cocky.

"No," he told me, "I wouldn't trust a man who has interests to _kill_ me."

I froze, wondering immediately about exactly _how _he knew about those dark thoughts I had. They were quite warming to me, especially when I was being knocked around by a _regular_ human.

His deathly expression made him seem to be a demon.

"Why do you believe in that?" I asked, innocently, as my palms started to sweat – as precaution I dug one of my nails deep into my skin, a bubble of blood flowing out.

Claude stood up and handed me a handkerchief, placing it right above my fresh wound. I froze as he did so – how did he know?

He sat back down in his ridiculously large chair – no his _throne_ – before answering my betrayal. "You should know well that you're never going to get your money this way–"

"You promised," I growled, clenching my bleeding hand, "you promised me all the money that I needed."

"Only if you stayed _loyal_," my employer reminded, his eyes looking at me like trash, "which you _aren't_. Do something about your attitude or you'll never get the money."

I was about to open my mouth, to argue and persuade but he said words I never told anyone here.

"And you will _never_ save your daughter."

I froze.

"Don't you _dare_ think that I chose you for _just_ your power; your daughter's…problem…was quite handy."

Claude smiled, reminding of the smiles that Shizuka-sama had given me before – on the day that she had come to give me an offer that I couldn't refuse.

_The Past_

_Who was this woman – daring to stand in my home without my permission? When I asked, she didn't respond back to me. _

_"Do you want money?" she asked instead, holding up a package the size of a cake I couldn't afford. I didn't answer – everything that comes to this area always comes with a price. When I didn't talk, only stared with greed, she said, "Well?"_

_"Why?" I wanted to know, thinking that this was a noblewoman – taunting me with the package. The thing that made me the most curious was the idea that inside was money. If I had to, I could kill her and take the money – the hospital didn't care where it came from as long as it was usable money. _

_She smiled and sat down, setting the parcel on the table – in her hand was a fan in which she somehow used to cut it open. _

_Out spilled the Jewels I needed. _

_At its sight, I bit my finger and sent it straight towards the ripped package, roping all of it up and pulling it to me. The woman made no move to stop me – she rather seemed happy about me taking her offering. She let me count the amount, not troubling herself to tell me what it was._

_"This isn't enough," I told her, "for whatever I'm needed for, this isn't enough – I need more."_

_"You will have more – everyone starts out with this." _

_"Who is everyone?" I asked, inquiring more into what I was going to have to do – or what I _wasn't _going to do. _

_"That doesn't matter yet," she said matter-of-factly. She didn't mind saying it, even as I pointed a blood-crafted weapon to her neck. _

_I replied, "It does if you care for your life."_

_She smiled at me, daunting me as she told me quite bluntly, "You cannot kill _me_."_

_"SHUT UP!" I yelled – she didn't flinch at its volume, "I TOLD YOU THAT I NEED MORE!"_

_Quietly, she responded, "That is all that you're going to get until you agree you will join my brother's army."_

_I scowled at her, "I don't give a damn about that – I'll kill you if you don't give me more Jewels." _

_"Then you will not have anymore."_

_I held the sword for a few more moments before letting it down. This was my only choice – this was a thousand some Jewels, enough for part of _her_ treatment. I clenched my fingers over the money and stuck my hand out for her to shake – skipping the part about listening to what it was about. _

_I needed this for Sarea – I owed her everything. _

_The woman smiled something much more pleasant before introducing herself. "I'm Shizuka."_

_I said, "Kage."_

The Present

"You–"

"Didn't I just tell you?" he said, smirking. "I needed some form of leverage – your situation suited _me_ perfectly."

I balled my fists up at this – he _used_ me? No – I used _him_! Sarea had needed me to do this, it was all for her! She needed medical treatment but those _doctors _had told me that nothing could be done – unless I could afford their healing powers.

"Admit it," Claude told me, "you were desperate."

I ground my teeth together, angry at the truth of it all. "I was _not_ desperate!"

He nodded in doubting agreement, "Yes, y–"

The blood from my palm flooded from my anger, dripping out to the ground and swallowing up what was in its path. Claude widened his eyes in surprise but smiled with pleasure.

I controlled the blood to surround him – swallow him up and become part of my collection of blood, collected from every single one of my victims. He reached to his side and held something into the air – something that I had thought I had seen somewhere.

"I'll enjoy this," he told me.

I could tell that I wouldn't.

* * *

Natsu

"Where is Claude?" I heard Laxus interrogate, leaning against a table with Shizuka beside him with a worried look. She had tried to persuade him to stay at my house and rest but I think that he wanted to take up his position as the next master.

We were in the guild's basement – the only place that wasn't completely in rubble, the place where we had kept our few prisoners for questioning – all of them tied to some sort of unbroken piece of furniture we managed to salvage.

The mage that I had fought with wasn't answering any of our questions; silent and uncooperative – even Laxus was having trouble. Kage's other henchmen weren't in the mood for talking either apparently.

"Is there a reason that you cannot say anything to us?" Master asked kindly, unlike his grandson – I still wondered why Shizuka fell in love with him.

The woman bit her lip and eyed the short, old man who stood in front of her with his hands behind his back. His double eared, striped hat was above the normal height due to the many bandages Wendy insisted to wrap around his head injury. She shook her head as an answer – progress.

I took the opportunity, "Do you know where Lucy Heartfilia is?"

She didn't even bother to look at me, probably furious at the fact that I was the one who had beat her up anyways. Ryuu seemed to be desperate to know the answer to that as well, shifting himself as though he was trying to listen better. I ruffled his hair and gave him the look that said _it's going to be alright._

As I did that, he slumped against my knee.

I looked back to the woman, staring intently at her so she'd finally give in and answer already. It seemed more like she was biting on her tongue but after a minute she sighed.

Aiming it only at Master Makarov, she dramatically waited (as if she hadn't already) before saying, "Nope."

Everybody's built up tension melted away, replaced with pure frustration. She laughed, giggling our wasted time away. Another guy looked pretty fidgety at the subject, pale but he seemed to want to say something. His colleagues noticed and shook their heads at him.

I wasn't going to let them play around anymore – not when I knew that Lucy could be in danger by now. What if she had seen my trademark scarf – how would she have reacted? Would Claude kill her now?

Shizuka had explained that there was a chance he wouldn't for plenty of reasons – easy money, status, and his sick…entertainment.

I didn't want to take _any_ chance.

"What do you know?" I asked the fidgeting guy. He met my gaze but then quickly looked away, hiding from the glares and stares being given to him. I repeated my question, now undoubtedly directed at him.

He shook his head but I didn't give a damn about whether or not he _knew_ – I needed to know _what_ he knew. Ignoring the jolt of pain I felt, I strode four steps to his chair – noticing unconsciously that the joking Puppet Mage was only two more steps away – and slammed my hands on the wooden arms.

The man – around my age, maybe older – tried to avoid looking at my face but before he could try to squirm out of the chair I fired up my hands and arms – cornering him. He didn't try to test whether my flames were real or not, not with them so close.

I was feral when I threatened, "I'll crisp you if you don't tell me where she is."

He shook his head again, edging away from the sides of his chair. I knew that soon enough, the ropes we had restrained them with would burn away – he'd have to talk before then.

The first thing that struck as an idea was to force him to open his mouth at the very least – forgetting the fact my hands were burning.

His first word was his scream.

Immediately I let go of him and I saw Wendy's hair in a blur, immediately trying to cool him down and treat the burns. After the shock, I regained my senses – I had to ask him now while he was in pain.

"TELL ME DAMN IT!"

The man still shook his head in defiance – he still held back even though I had just put him through torture; he had my respect for that. Wendy shook her head, signaling for us to stop so she could perform the treatment.

Elfman nodded his head, taking an order from Master, and then patted my back to lead me back upstairs. I evaded him though, grabbing the snickering female prisoner by her cloak's collar and ran out by myself.

Nobody followed.

As I soon as I could taste fresh air, I threw her – chair and all – at the building that was supposed to be across the street. It wasn't a building anymore, just the boney structure – burnt wood and ash. She slammed right into it, crashing and breaking it apart again.

Though I heard the snapping, I knew that she was fine – that she could still hear my words.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO US!" I screamed, knowing that the entire town of Magnolia was in the same condition. "YOU OWE US OUR HOMES, OUR MEMORIES, AND THE YEARS OF OUR LIVES!"

I saw her stand back up, dusting off her shoulders like nothing was wrong. Civilians nearby crowded around us, wondering what a mage of Fairy Tail was doing with another mage. They had been in range to hear my outcry of what she owed all of us.

She stepped out of the rubble she had landed in, looking at it all with disgust. "What do you mean by what _I _owe _you_?" – she pointed a finger at me with accusation – "YOU were the one who destroyed MY life!"

A woman spoke up, from within the midst of the crowd. "And does this give you any right to destroy ours?"

I turned to look at her; the fragile voice belonged to an old grandmother with three children surrounding her, each holding onto a part of her dirt-stained dress. The people seemed strengthened by her, beginning to speak their unfortunate stories.

One man told us, "I might have lost my home but we can rebuild it – only if I have any money still on me!"

"My future was burned down because of you!"

"I have nothing to feed my kids!"

Some of them were directed at me though, asking if there was anything that we could do to help them. I told them that they could stay in the guild's basement and we would try to give them as much food as we could find.

"Do you know what was the cause of all this?" someone inquired. I saw Jason with his camera in hand, reporting sincerely this time. I licked my lips, wondering if I should or shouldn't say anything about what happened.

If I let people know what had happened and it spread across – what kind of reaction would Claude make – I was scared about that. What kind of details would I say – about how it happened and who did it?

"There were these men and this huge glob! The glob burned down the buildings and we couldn't do any–" a kid said, interrupting my thoughts about whether or not I should say anything – it was already summarized to Jason. His mother clamped a hand over his mouth before looking at me with a wondering expression.

"What _is_ the cause, sir?" she asked.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should talk about Lucy or about Kage or about Claude's part in this. If Claude were attacked in the news his reputation would be damaged and he'd try and find blame – probably defend himself against it all.

I started to stammer, knowing that everyone watching could tell that I was going to lie.

* * *

Master

If Natsu hadn't suddenly bursted, we wouldn't have had to control the other prisoners. Wendy had a harder time healing the burns with all of the noise disturbing her concentration but she managed. We weren't worried when we heard a loud noise from above and when we felt the vibrations of something crumbling; we knew another building had fallen.

Erza was wielding one of her swords, already heading upstairs to punish the man for nearly killing our best lead. We had been hoping that the wait-and-see method would work but it should have been expected that Natsu would be impatient. He was personal on this after all.

No, we were all personal – it was just that we held our emotions better than he did.

I stopped Erza, making up the excuse of letting Natsu burn off his anger. She complained, "If he ends up _killing_ her, he's going to be in deeper trouble because we'll never find Lucy."

"Don't say that!" Levy said, always hopeful. "We'll find her so you–"

"I WANT HER TO BE ALIVE!" the other mage screamed, looking desperate. "I WANT TO ASK HER WHY SHE DIDN'T STAY WITH US – WHY SHE DIDN'T TRUST US!"

The others seemed to agree, their eyes growing sad at those thoughts.

Erza continued with her voice's decibels toned down, "She should have trusted us to protect her like we did before – we would have fought for her."

The guild nodded their heads, feeling not as close to their beloved Lucy as they had thought.

"We will have the chance to ask her Erza," I said, naming only Erza but saying this to everyone, "and when we do we can ask her all of the questions we want."

They silenced after that, trying to be helpful to Wendy or just waiting for Natsu to cool down. Loke stayed beside Ryuu, filling up the spot in which his father had been sitting in, as some form of comfort.

The captives weren't as resisting anymore, shown when one of them asked, "Why aren't you killing us?"

Gajeel looked at him, shrugging, "Just because we don't feel like it."

Levy rolled her eyes – as did everyone – at his tone, which hid what was the real reason. She corrected, "You have the right to life and life includes redemption, besides" – she pointed to the man beside her – "if Gajeel turned his life around so we can be sure that you can as well."

He nodded proudly before realizing that Levy had just degraded his image; her sudden giggles giving it away.

He still didn't seem to be convinced though; the man just gave us disgusted looks. "That doesn't mean we would do it too. One day you're going to regret ever giving us this chance."

I smiled, "We will deal with it as it comes."

He didn't say another word after that, thinking something over while giving us strange looks.

From above there was a loud pounding – different sounds and different, multiple steps. This time we were concerned, Kage bringing more men would be troublesome, after all – a few more stories down would lead to Lumen Histoire and the guild, unknowingly, would protect it with all their might.

When we heard Natsu's voice however, our anxiety disappeared – wondering what was going on. When I saw children come down the stairs, followed by their parents and extended family, I waited for the explanation. It came with a shrug and a nervous look from the rose-haired man who came in last place, but all it was, was "We have room."

I sighed, shaking my head at all of this. Now the entire basement was quite squished together and there was no way that the females would feel comfortable sleeping amongst so many men. I looked to Natsu, with a hopeful look at him – thinking of another guild nearby but he shook his head.

"They don't want anything to do with its people."

I rolled my eyes, becoming quite frustrated with our rivaling guild – knowing that Banaboster was breaking his side in the contract. From the start they only used Magnolia as another extortion subject – they turned their heads when something wrong had happened.

They thought, as long as it didn't affect them then there was no reason to fret. Banaboster was such a fool to think that but it was his guild and he commanded the orders, just like I did with mine.

"Fairy Tail sleeps under the stars tonight but Wendy" – the young teenager perked her head up – "stay at the hospital to watch the patients with Erza. The protection charms and spells protected it from burning down, even with Kage's magic – it should be enough to hold. Everyone else stays to protect civilians."

"We don't need _protection_!" someone cried – a save for male pride. "What we need is _answers_!"

I hesitated before telling him, "Answers will be given when asked."

"Then who did th– no, _what_ did this? Is this a turf war or is it–"

I opened my mouth, to clarify something but Natsu beat me to it with just one word, "Lucy."

Laxus was next, speaking mostly to Jason, "The real reason why Lucy Heartfilia is no longer associated with Fairy Tail is because she left us – not because she was missing. Now, however, she is categorized as a prisoner to a man."

"This man's name is Claude Yufukuna but unfortunately, we have no idea of his whereabouts," Shizuka told before looking to Loke. He held up Ryuu as she stated, "This is her son – if you have any idea _where _he has–"

"The south," the man from an elderly couple said, "is where we're from. We saw him from there near Twilight Ogre."

Levy nodded, writing it all down with Reedus' light pen – the air glowing with runes and letters. "We know that, we want to know if anybody has seen this boy anywhere else."

Jason perked up, analyzing Ryuu's face and snapping a picture with the flash making everyone blink. "I can find out by putting up–"

"We don't want attention," I told him, "our enemy could do worse things to our town and our families – we don't want any more harm to come our way."

The room's voices were silent but the soles of the guild member's shoes each made noise as they headed to the above ruins of our building. I heard Gray converse with Erza, a discussion over the matters of watching over Natsu so he didn't do anything risky again. I don't think that the said man noticed it, even with his hearing, because his eyes seemed far away.

"Why did it happen to us?" a woman clutching her shawl asked, shivering in her thin layers of clothing. "Why couldn't it have happened to somebody else?"

The people murmured, the whispers growing louder and making a thought – a question. It was good that they were thinking; that their brains hadn't stopped functioning from any shock.

"Did that woman – that Lucy – have anything to do with this?"

"Was she the reason why our town was destroyed?"

"Where is she?"

"How come she isn't here anymore?"

"I want her to know what she's done to us!"

"She should have given herself up, then we–"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Natsu yelled, enraged so suddenly by their words. His face looked pained and as frustrated as them but he had a different reason. He kept them silent even when he whispered, "Lucy wouldn't have meant for any of this and she's already taken – we said that."

Beside him, the one female prisoner he had taken for the argument was struggling to get up and stare up at him – defiant. She chuckled, "She left you didn't she? How do you know that she hasn't changed?"

Natsu looked down at her, bearing that same look of defiance. "How would Lucy change?"

The woman snorted, giggling the word before saying it seriously, "Change! What if she's already been screwed?"

He froze; the thought of somebody else taking his Lucy away from him was obviously devastating. I was sickened by the thought, so it was obvious he would feel even worse from those words. By the way that she laughed and shook her head told us that that had been a lie – just a taunt to daunt us.

"So you're that kid's dad huh?" she asked, already knowing the answer even without a reply. Natsu looked away – the action proving it by itself. She wriggled up, studying him and taking a minute before softening her gaze. "Fine."

"Are you going to tell us?" I asked while Natsu was staring into another dimension again – suddenly heading upstairs, away from us. He was making a good choice; refraining from immediately leaving to find Lucy. The woman nodded, glaring back at the glares given to her by her fellow partners.

She shrugged, "I don't have much of a choice do I?"

I nodded – not caring about what I had always told my guild of freedom.

If one of us was imprisoned, the rest of us would be in the same cage.

* * *

Natsu

Gray watched me emerge – almost everybody did actually but he was the one who gestured for me to follow him. I didn't have anything else to do besides anxiously wait for Master to give the command I desperately wanted.

But unless he said so, I couldn't lift a finger to fight against anyone anymore – a promise to stay behaved with nobody to control me anymore.

Lucy had been my suppressor.

I hardly recognized where we were going – I had thought we were walking aimlessly; that Gray was helping me lose track of time.

This place was burned somewhere in the back of my mind and I should have known where he had been taking me. Gray didn't let me stop when I noticed though, catching the back of my black vest when I began to turn back.

I felt the wind fight against my back in the instant he flung me – a hit against a boulder creating a bruise on my back. I wasn't going to ask what it was forbecause I was used to it – Gray waking me up and getting me back on track, not throwing me.

Even though we had fights and arguments that – I had figured during a sudden maturity growth – were completely pointless (but it didn't stop us from having them). He was the one I was the closest to, through all of those fights, those insulting moments, and the times when we tried to prove the other to be weaker.

Of course I told him, I told him about what I had planned to do on _that_ day. I never said anything about the rejection though; I wouldn't have been able to handle the embarrassment anyways if I did.

"You alright now?" he asked, panting a bit from his action.

I nodded, "Thanks."

"You just told her and left it at that right?" he assumed, nodding his own head and avoiding my eyes. "I told you _not_ to do that! I should have known when the two of you were refusing to talk to each other!"

"We weren't refusing Gray, we just drif–"

"Drifted apart my ass!" he yelled, "You two were closer than anybody else!"

"WELL IT HAPPENED!" I claimed, "CAN'T YOU BELIEVE IT FOR ONCE?"

"NO I CAN'T!" he told me, "Not when you two were always together. Why do you think I tried helping you?"

I stayed silent at that while thinking – _Now we aren't._

For the next few minutes neither of us said anything, just sat next to each other and trying to forget about our conversation. It hurt to know that Gray still had a chance while I didn't – not when I knew that Lucy was still out there.

"Did you really love Lucy?" he asked, slightly looking at me. I nodded with my eyes looking down at the ground. "That's nice."

I nodded dazedly again, resting my head on the smooth boulder as I tried hard to not remember what it had been like to be in _love._

All it had ever done for me was hurt me.

"Loke said after Lucy had…Ryuu, she seemed happier."

"Really now?" I asked in a whisper, managing a smile when I saw his head nod in the corner of my eye. He sighed and patted my shoulder – I flinched from the pain tingling from my bruise.

"We'll find her."

I knew that – after all, I was going to get her back myself.

With or without Master's consent.

* * *

Lucy

Somewhere after sundown, I heard the door creak open – I didn't make a move. I had thought over the meaning behind the show of Natsu's scarf, and the question of whether or not he was alive still. Something was being dragged inside of the room – there had been noises thumping on the stairs.

I didn't recognize the voice when someone told me with a chuckle, "Here's someone to keep you company."

He used his rough hands to turn my head – seemingly wanting to do _more _than touch but before that could happen, I jerked my chin away. I looked willingly, hoping that it was Natsu – I could see him at least – but it wasn't him. It was a_ man_ but it wasn't the one I wanted to see beside me.

For some reason, Kage was covered in his own blood but unable to control any of it surprisingly. His breathing was labored and hardly sustainable for life but it seemed that he was trying.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing that it had something to do with Claude.

His eyes were closed, trying to keep out the blood dripping from his forehead, when he answered. "–ave her."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "Save who?"

"Daugh" – he groaned, wincing – "ter."

I widened my eyes at his words, saying with disbelief, "You have a daughter?"

He slightly nodded his head, "Sarea."

"Where?"

"Bell–" he started to say before going into a coughing fit, spitting out blood from his mouth. I didn't mind the blood but I was concerned – I couldn't do anything with my hands tied though.

Bell? There was no place called Bell but there was a country in Earthland called _Bellum_. Was that the place he was talking about?

Bellum was a country of war – hence its name from another era – but it was far away from Fiore. From here, on the other hand, it was just one country to the south of the Pergrande Kingdom – the place where we were.

It was in poverty due to all of the various funds used during its warring period between itself – even now people were still struggling to get their hands on the land's throne.

"Where in Bellum?" I asked, hoping that he could still answer me.

"Sow" – he inhaled for breath, his skin clammy with sweat – "east."

Sow east – south east? The south east side of Bellum was the worst – the farther away it was from Pergrande, there were less rations given out by them.

I cringed, suddenly pitying this man despite what he had done to me – he separated me from my own boy but I still cared. "I'll find her."

"She'll die," he told me, "surge" – he inhaled again – "needed money."

I nodded, understanding his situation of despair but now I wanted to keep him _alive_. "Everything's going to be alright Kage. Um, why don't you tell me what your daughter's like alright?"

He barely moved his head on my lap, "Best thing…happen…to me."

I realized that the man in my lap, the Kage I had seen during that one hazy time when Claude had went and kidnapped me, was a corpse. Dead and unmoving – not talking, not breathing, not _living_.

That was the most important thing – he was _dead_ not _alive _but _dead_.

I wondered if I would become the same.

* * *

Um…This is the Afterword thingy…

Yeah I know that you guys thought that _oh, Kage should fight Natsu and Natsu and win and stuff_ like it usually happens right? Or like one of the guild members fighting him and stuff. Or Shizuka…

See there's always the hidden side! Ohhh Kage had a _daughter _– that's what people would go like right? And then your vision of the guy kinda changes – _he was doing it for his child._ Yeah….anyways I couldn't come up with anything for them to defeat him and Claude…so I got rid of one – I felt it was better for Natsu to fight Claude, like some sweet gross violated love story where the two guys for the girl…weird?

It'd be nice if all the parents in the world were like Kage right? They'd do anything for them – change, kill, and most importantly _love_.

Don't forget that everyone's a _person_ – maybe not human but they are still someone who's living and that's the best part of it all.

That we're all living.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Lucy

The strain of my body weight hurt my hands, making them bleed and burn red after the long time of when I tried to slip my wrists out of their chains.

My feet were pushing away from the wall, helping me pull my hands out.

Kage had died a few hours ago, giving me grief but hardly enough to make me cry – I had been disturbed by his story though, true or not. I couldn't help but wonder if his daughter was real but at the moment he was dead, I couldn't ask him anything more.

For some reason I felt as though my hands were fat, despite me being starved for so long, all because I couldn't get rid of these shackles no matter how much I struggled. Exhausted, I rested for a moment and thought of other options – I had tried this method for a while and never succeeded anyways.

I stared at the wall, noticing how the chain attached to the wall was old but taken care of and barely rusted away, almost new. I scowled with frustration but still decided to give the chain a few hard tugs with my remaining strength, just to try.

With no avail, my heart accelerated with the fearful thought of never being able to escape. Claude had done this so I couldn't. He was right, he had done it – I never would leave this place and I wouldn't whether I tried or not.

Stopping and giving in to it now, I let my breath slow down.

Then I saw a familiar mark that stood for so many memories – my pink Fairy Tail stamp.

Immediately feeling stupid and ashamed, I assured myself – calmed myself down – and remembered that I was a member of Fairy Tail. I couldn't afford believe that I'd never get away – especially when what I was paying for this with my life. If I was captured, there _had_ to be a way to escape.

I started to yank at the chain again.

I wasn't going to end up dead like the man next to me.

* * *

Natsu

Happy helped me shove a few things inside of my pack before going back to his tiny one. "I can't believe you're going without anybody else Natsu!"

"I'm not going to be alone," I told him, closing the flap of the bag. "I'm going with you aren't I? You're enough to handle anything with me!"

"Aye!" he said chirpily before going back to his cynical thinking, "Everybody'll be mad though don't you think?"

I shrugged despite knowing the answer – of course they would be! If I went without them they would be furious. Knowing Erza, she'd probably kill me before I could see Claude.

There was a knock at the door and the both of us hurriedly pushed our things all over the place, making it seem as normal as it had been before.

Speaking of the devil caused the devil to come, proven by the people who were revealed by the door, after all _Erza _was the one who had knocked, with Loke and Gray behind her. Juvia and Levy stayed beside each other, knocking at the window glass instead.

"_Think_ about leaving us here Natsu," Erza threatened, "and I'll use your bones to scrape blood off my sword!"

Without me saying anything, they pushed past me into_ my_ house with their own packed things. I noticed that they had also dragged along the girl who decided she'd talk. I wasn't comfortable with her but she would probably be here to lead us the way.

Surprisingly though, she said, "You're kidding right? I'm not going with you guys!"

"We aren't kidding," Loke growled, putting her back in her place. "You told us she was in Pergrande Kingdom but you haven't told us where."

"Look for her yourself."

"We'd be doing that if Pergrande Kingdom wasn't that huge," Gray told her with an obvious, annoyed tone.

"She's somewhere in the–"

"South," Loke finished for her, "you've already told us that."

She crossed her arms, deep in thought of what she should say to us. When she opened her mouth as soon as she closed it, we all wondered if she really knew where. To word our mutual thought, Erza said, "You don't know, do you?"

The woman widened her eyes, looking surprisingly scared for a moment, "NO! I swear that I know where she is! It's somewhere in the mountains above Bellum."

"That still isn't specific enough," Happy stated. "Lucy could be somewhere else too right?"

I shook my head, "She should be with Claude."

Verissa narrowed her eyes and furrowed her thin brows in thought, starting to talk before being interrupted as we conferred.

"So we search every mountain in Earth Land's _largest_ country and see if Claude is perched at the top of one of them?" Erza rhetorically asked us, turning back to the silent woman. "Where do you last remember–"

The woman shook her head, "I wasn't ever there where the girl is or where Claude is – I just know one place."

"What do you mean you only know one place?" Loke asked.

"It's where the trade's going to take place – that'll be where Claude will be, won't he?"

"Trade?" we simultaneously asked her but I was the only one who added, with a paling face, "what trade?"

She shrugged, "It's got something to do with your girl."

* * *

Master

_Few Minutes Earlier_

_As loud as I could express my frustration, I screamed, "WHAT?"_

_Shizuka didn't flinch as much as her fellow guild members – but if it was more appropriate, I would have laughed at the way the villagers jumped._

_"I can't find any of them."_

_"They couldn't have…"_

_"I wouldn't put it past them."_

_Once I heard those last few words, I made my way to the top of the stairs and started after the three impulsive runaways who had left to have all the heroic fun for themselves._

I had hoped that this wasn't going to happen.

Why it had to – I had no part in it at all, and that was what probably angered me the most.

Had they been _that_ desperate to go before everyone else?

Shizuka had the one to report it to me and I was thankful that she hadn't kept quiet about it. By the way Laxus had his head in his hands, he seemed to be on the side of _not_ telling me.

Just a few of us were waiting at the train station – my grandson, his fiancé, Gajeel, and me of course – for the next available train to Pergrande Kingdom.

* * *

Lucy

It had _not _been surprisingly easy once the skin at my wrists seemed to be rubbed away. My sight was blurry – tears from the painful sting – as I tightly wrapped my wounds with some of the ripped fabric I pulled from some silky piece of clothing. I didn't care if it was expensive, not like I would have before I became a prisoner.

Outside of this caravan lay some foreign land probably, or maybe it would still be Pergrande Kingdom with its long, stretched distance. It felt like it had been hours since I fled from that ghastly tower.

I had everything at my fingertips; at least it felt that way – now that I was freed from Claude. I'd find my way back to Fairy Tail somehow and live the rest of my life the way that I wanted.

Of course I knew that this wasn't going to happen – naïve thinking gets the better of us all, doesn't it?

It was naïve thinking that had destroyed my relationship with Natsu, after all.

* * *

After words

Yesh yesh, I know – it's a super short chapter that hardly previews anything that happens next. I'm working on the next chapter now – now that my computer is fine and my internet isn't dying on me ^.^ Sorry for these extra long waits…

*bows bows bows bows bows*

These chapters are going to get shorter and shorter just so you know…until I finally finish it .

Please feel free to leave this story alone until some few years later when I actually finish it ^.^ Oh! And the next chapter is a .5 chapter….just a short story ^.^


	12. Chapter 11 Point 5

Soooo I kind of thought that it would fun to write an extra story like they do in the mangas and stuff right? So…it's during the Grand Magic Games (right where it's updated and stuff at the moment) and stuffles…Um this is to bring up some positivity about what happens. Come on guys, Lucy can't die because she's a main character and Natsu can't either – it just won't happen alright? K? Fairy Tail is invincible.

They always save the day and they're not going to stop – Natsu won't give up protecting his nakama, Erza won't stop fighting with her swords, Gray isn't going to stop being an exhibitionist, and Lucy definitely won't die or be crushed by the Eclipse plan, okay?

You just have to have faith in this idea.

Of course, maybe everything won't be okay…but Fairy Tail will bounce back one day.

Chapter –

A Mother's Love

"Mommy!"

I turned around and shouted back from inside the house, "What is it?"

"Is this right Mommy?"

Oh…the trees, did he finish replanting the ones that he pulled out – the ones that_ I _had planted? I told him that I was coming, wiping my hands on a towel beside the sink, since I was making Ryuu's lunch.

When I walked out, I saw my child with a dirt-smeared face and a tiny play shovel in his hands. He smiled and pointed down beside him, which is where I went to look.

"That's right sweetie."

"What about that one?" he asked, pointing to another planted sprout. I nodded approvingly at that one too – at all the ones that he pointed to and the ones he had repeated.

After a while, I told him to finally go and eat his lunch which had grown cold by then. When he went inside, I let out a sigh at my son's work and took closer looks at the plants.

Apparently, Ryuu had not only patted down the dirt surrounding the sprouts but he had also flattened the new trees themselves!

I sighed, knowing that the work I would have to do to repair the new damages done, couldn't compare to this mother's love for her child.

* * *

...maybe I should have posted this on Mother's Day o.o


End file.
